{"id":422432,"date":"2023-04-10T18:51:15","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T18:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/?p=422432"},"modified":"2023-04-10T18:51:56","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T18:51:56","slug":"get-to-know-who-are-south-carolinas-freshies-entering-2023-wnba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/get-to-know-who-are-south-carolinas-freshies-entering-2023-wnba-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Get To Know Who Are South Carolina&#8217;s &#8216;Freshies&#8217; Entering 2023 WNBA Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The top recruitment class for South Carolina women&#8217;s basketball in 2019 included <em><strong>Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Laeticia Amihere, and Olivia Thompson,<\/strong><\/em> who started their respective careers. Now that they have played four seasons together and won the NCAA title, their focus is on the 2023 WNBA Draft, which will be held on Monday in New York.<\/p>\n<h2>Get To Know South Carolina&#8217;s &#8216;Freshies&#8217; Entering 2023 WNBA Draft<\/h2>\n<p>The five women&#8217;s text-based group chat they called &#8220;The Freshies&#8221; during their first year at Columbia is still active today. The dominant group has contributed to South Carolina&#8217;s stunning 129-9 record, three Final Four trips, national championship in 2022, and many other illustrious achievements since their arrival in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Coach Dawn Staley recently praised her senior class for being low-maintenance and high-performing, stating that it will be very difficult to replace such a brilliant and cohesive group in the future.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">South Carolina&#39;s 2019 recruiting class dubbed &quot;The Freshies&quot; had an incredible 4 year run \ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GamecockWBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GamecockWBB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u25fd\ufe0f 129-9 combined record<br \/>\u25fd\ufe0f 1 home loss<br \/>\u25fd\ufe0f Never ranked outside of Top 10<br \/>\u25fd\ufe0f 42 game win streak<br \/>\u25fd\ufe0f 3 Final Four appearances<br \/>\u25fd\ufe0f 3 SEC championships<br \/>\u25fd\ufe0f 1 National Championship <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OfAI9Itrbj\">pic.twitter.com\/OfAI9Itrbj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Sporting News (@sportingnews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sportingnews\/status\/1642268892947939329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I hope there is another class that comes a close second [or] third to this class.&#8221; Staley said. &#8220;This class has been remarkable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Boston was the first of &#8220;The Freshies&#8221; to declare her intention to participate in the forthcoming WNBA Draft on April 1. The Indiana Fever presently hold the first overall pick this year, which is expected to go to the 6-foot-5 star forward.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Great look at 4\/5 of &quot;The Freshies&quot; set for the next level<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rtynLcYSHq\">https:\/\/t.co\/rtynLcYSHq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; South Carolina Women&#39;s Basketball (@GamecockWBB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GamecockWBB\/status\/1644069679898714112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 6, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This past season, <strong>Boston<\/strong> averaged 13.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game. Boston, a three-time unanimous first-team All-American and back-to-back Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, has won several SEC and national honours while playing for the Gamecocks. She has also broken over 20 individual programme records.<\/p>\n<p>Her NIL value has been estimated in the range of $105,000-$115,000 annually \u2014 roughly the same as the average WNBA salary and significantly higher than the league&#8217;s minimum salary of $74,000. She has signed name-image-likeness deals with numerous significant businesses, including OrangeTheory, Bojangles, and Crocs among others.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A look at the &quot;freshies&quot; Resume at South Carolina. <\/p>\n<p>Truly one of the greatest recruiting classes in the history of college basketball. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WLTX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WLTX<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Gamecocks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Gamecocks<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Aj9BU1L3n3\">pic.twitter.com\/Aj9BU1L3n3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chandler Mack (@chandlerdmack) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chandlerdmack\/status\/1643422320046886913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 5, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This season, Gamecocks guard <strong>Cooke<\/strong> led the squad in scoring with 15.4 points per contest. Additionally, she recorded career-high percentages from the field (40.5%) and the free-throw line (79.2%).<\/p>\n<p>This past season, <strong>Amihere<\/strong> averaged 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while <strong>Beal<\/strong>, South Carolina&#8217;s defensive specialist, averaged 6.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Four South Carolina women&#39;s basketball seniors head to New York on Monday for the WNBA Draft, and some projections have all of them going in Round 1.<\/p>\n<p>Where \u201cThe Freshies\u201d stand in the latest mock drafts and what teams could be their best fit: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mH8XO0f6aT\">https:\/\/t.co\/mH8XO0f6aT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Emily Adams (@eaadams6) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eaadams6\/status\/1644406137054265345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 7, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 3-pointer Thompson shot with 30 seconds remaining in South Carolina&#8217;s victory against South Florida in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Women&#8217;s Basketball Tournament is what made her most famous as a walk-on in 2018. The only member of &#8220;The Freshies&#8221; who hasn&#8217;t formally registered for the forthcoming draught is Thompson, the last of the group.<\/p>\n<p>It will just be the second time in WNBA history that a school has generated four first-round choices in a single draft, joining UConn in 2002, if all four of &#8220;The Freshies&#8221; competing in this year&#8217;s draught are chosen in the first round.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">One last CLA shootaround for South Carolina&#39;s Class of 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Gamecocks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Gamecocks<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The legacy of the Freshies: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VloCLlvZnu\">pic.twitter.com\/VloCLlvZnu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Julia Westerman (@JuliaWesterman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JuliaWesterman\/status\/1637500426672013312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><b>&#8216;The Freshies&#8217; career stats<\/b><\/h2>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"col\"><\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Minutes<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Points<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Rebounds<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Assists<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Blocks<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Steals<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Aliyah Boston<\/td>\n<td>3,751<\/td>\n<td>1,942<\/td>\n<td>1,493<\/td>\n<td>265<\/td>\n<td>330<\/td>\n<td>141<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Brea Beal<\/td>\n<td>3,370<\/td>\n<td>847<\/td>\n<td>685<\/td>\n<td>214<\/td>\n<td>110<\/td>\n<td>105<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Laeticia Amihere<\/td>\n<td>2,021<\/td>\n<td>796<\/td>\n<td>517<\/td>\n<td>130<\/td>\n<td>133<\/td>\n<td>88<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Zia Cooke<\/td>\n<td>3,831<\/td>\n<td>1,845<\/td>\n<td>340<\/td>\n<td>254<\/td>\n<td>13<\/td>\n<td>117<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Olivia Thompson<\/td>\n<td>312<\/td>\n<td>83<\/td>\n<td>19<\/td>\n<td>10<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>13,285<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5,513<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3,054<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>619<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>587<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>455<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThat\u2019s our team next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>South Carolina women\u2019s basketball is guided by the \u201cFreshies\u201d of the 2019 recruiting class. <\/p>\n<p>And as those veterans depart, the \u201cBirdies\u201d of 2021 will look to fill in.<\/p>\n<p>More about the other No. 1 class on USC\u2019s roster:<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oS6FKcQydh\">https:\/\/t.co\/oS6FKcQydh<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KZOvqek495\">pic.twitter.com\/KZOvqek495<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jeremiah Holloway \u270d\ud83c\udfff (@jxholloway) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jxholloway\/status\/1640348041029865473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Draft predictions for &#8220;The Freshies&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>ESPN predicts that, except Thompson, all four women will either make it out of the first round or into the early second round.<\/p>\n<p>In their most recent mock draft, Boston is ranked first overall to the Indiana Fever, Beal is seventh overall to the Fever as well, Amihere is eighth overall to the Atlanta Dream, and Cooke is ranked thirteenth overall once again to the Fever.<\/p>\n<p>Destanni Henderson, a South Carolina graduate who played for &#8216;The Freshies&#8217; for three years, currently resides with the Fever. One South Carolina alumna from The Dream, Allisha Gray, performed from 2016 to 2017 before their time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZrH9mWlBRTU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE-\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Draymond Green Indirectly Taunts Rudy Gobert After His Scuffle With Kyle Anderson\" href=\"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/draymond-green-indirectly-taunts-rudy-gobert-after-his-scuffle-with-kyle-anderson\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Draymond Green Indirectly Taunts Rudy Gobert After His Scuffle With Kyle Anderson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The top recruitment class for South Carolina women&#8217;s basketball in 2019 included Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Laeticia Amihere, and Olivia Thompson, who started their respective careers. Now that they have played four seasons together and won the NCAA title, their focus is on the 2023 WNBA Draft, which will be held on Monday [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":422433,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6756,6757,6758,6759,6760,2480],"class_list":["post-422432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-freshies-wnba","tag-south-carolinas-freshies","tag-south-carolinas-freshies-2023","tag-south-carolinas-freshies-wnba-draft","tag-south-carolinas-freshies-wnba-draft-2023","tag-wnba"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}