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South Carolina begins its repeat tour Tuesday with an exhibition game against Memphis. Here’s what I’m watching.

1. What is the rotation?
For a team that only lost one player from last season, little of the rotation seems settled. Ashlyn Watkins was supposed to take over for Kamilla Cardoso, the lone departure, but Watkins remains suspended. 

Who gets the starting nods at forward? Who plays together? What positions do some of these versatile players play? The guard rotation is more settled, but how does Staley manage the minutes?

Dawn Staley said Monday that she plans to start Raven Johnson, Te-hina Paopao, Bree Hall, Chloe Kitts, and Sania Feagin.

Staley has been known to make significant rotation changes following the rotation, so what we see tonight is definitely not the final word, but it tells us what the coaches are thinking right now. She also said that with the depth the Gamecocks have, she may change the starting lineup from game to game based on matchups.

“We will have a starting five, obviously, and we will have people coming off the bench,” Staley said. “It could change from game to game. That’s the type of team that we have. We have so many players that could start for us that we just have to figure out what’s the best combination, the best unit, to start.
It may not even be the best unit to finish a game, but they all have challenged themselves and put themselves in a position to start.”

2. What will Joyce Edwards do in her debut?
It’s only an exhibition and doesn’t count of course, but it’s still our first look at Edwards in a college game. After one of the most intense recruiting battles in recent memory, expectations are sky-high for Edwards. 

“Very energetic, very outgoing, you guys are gonna have a great time watching her play because we call her a crash out,” Bree Hall said.

She is also one of those versatile players who could play at least three positions. There are a lot of different ways South Carolina could utilize Edwards and different lineups she could play in. 

Plus, last season MiLaysia Fulwiley had a spectacular exhibition, hitting a halftime buzzer-beater and finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. So, no pressure, Joyce. 

3. No Maddy or Adhel
We will have to wait to see the Gamecocks’ other two freshmen. 

Point guard Maddy McDaniel will not play against Memphis. She recently had surgery to clean up scar tissue in her right knee. She previously tore her ACL as a freshman and then suffered a torn meniscus in the spring.

It’s disappointing that we won’t get to see her play in the exhibition, but the surgery is considered minor and McDaniel might not miss any future games.

“Maddy won’t play,” Staley said. “She’ll be ready to rock and roll hopefully by the time we play Clayton State.”

McDaniel is not expected to be a major contributor this season because of South Carolina’s loaded backcourt, so it’s good to get the issue taken care of now.

Staley also said that post Adhel Tac may not to play against Memphis.

“Adhel is full go,” Staley said. “I don’t know how many minutes she’ll play at Memphis, if she’ll play, but she’s been full-go here. She’s got the starter kit of a dominant post.”

The coaching staff is extremely high on Tac and has compared her to Aliyah Boston. Tac has all the ingredients to be the next great Gamecock post. She is a smart player, has great size at 6-6, and does a good job of playing tall. By all accounts, Tac is also a wonderful teammate.

But Tac is also a bit of a mystery. Injuries kept her sidelined for almost all of the last two years. She is healthy now, but that’s a long time to go without playing and nobody really knows what to expect. 

4. We’re talking about practice
Last season, Staley grudgingly learned to deal with a different approach to practice. The players were loud, goofy, and had a short attention span. Staley shortened practices out of necessity because she knew the focus wouldn’t be there after a certain point.

Staley said she has shortened practices again this preseason, but not because of a lack of focus. 

“Couldn’t be more pleased with the way they come here and they work,” she said. “We’re done. We got in everything we need to get in. That’s the cool thing about bringing back almost your entire team is we’re a lot more lean than we were. We don’t have to spend three hours in here, beat them over the head with stuff.”

According to Staley, practices are still a daycare, but Paopao and Hall said they are more mature than they were last season.

“We bring that up constantly to remind ourselves that we can’t be what we were last year during this time and just how our practices were and just how to practice before a game,” Paopao said. “I mean, today was a great day. but we definitely have come a long way”

“We’re in really good shape, because last year we were not in shape,” Hall continued

I think we’re also mature now,” Paopao added.

5. Scouting the Tigers 
In 2022-23, Memphis went 22-11 and finished second in the AAC with an 11-4 record. It was good enough for coach Katrina Merriweather to get hired away by Cincinnati, her alma mater. Last season, the Tigers backslid to 13-17 (9-9) under new coach Alex Simmons and are looking at a major rebuilding year.

In the offseason, Memphis added former Michigan State point guard DeeDee Hagermann, who averaged 12.3 points and 5.2 assists last season and was named second-team All-Big Ten. 

She replaces Madison Griggs, who averaged over 16 points last season and finished her career 11th in program history for career points. Memphis also has to replace leading rebounder Alasia Smith. 

The Tigers have a pair of former SEC players in former Ole Miss guard Elauna Eaton and former Vanderbilt forward Bailey Gilmore. Former Sumter High standout Layken Cox also plays for the Tigers. She began her career at Gardner-Webb but followed Simmons to Memphis.

South Carolina wants to treat this game as a dress rehearsal, including game-planning for Memphis. 

“We treat it as a game,” Staley said. “This is one of two opportunities to really treat it like a real game because we like to simulate it, the way that we prep for a game, and the way that we want our players to prep for a game. You don’t get do-overs and we certainly don’t get do-overs when you open the season with Michigan and NC State. We want to be locked into how, especially our freshmen are able to just understand what we want, what we’re looking for in scouting reports and how we prepare for games.”

“I think we’re really excited just to go out there and show people what we have and what we’ve been working on the past two months,” Paopao said.

The Ws
Who: South Carolina at Memphis
When: Tuesday, October 15, 9:30 pm
Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
Watch: ESPN+