COLOMBIA – Everyone is so excited about the next recruiting class that they are forgetting this one.
Eniya Russell doesn’t care. The lone recruit in South Carolina’s 2020 class calculates that she will kindly remind the crowds because she is there as soon as the basketball season begins.
“I think I will impact very well. I can play as a point guard, but in my first year I will probably play against both, ”said Russell. “It will be my first year in college, so I’m just getting used to the transition.”
Russell (first name is pronounced in-EYE-uh) is a 6-0 Baltimore guard who will be the only freshman in the squad this year. Junior redshirt Destiny Littleton will also be revealed, but she was in the cast last year while on the sidelines after her transfer from Texas.
Coach Dawn Staley built an epic recruiting class of five women who took first place in the country in 2019, and three of those players started all games in the 32-1 season last year. It has already won three of the country’s 26 best prospects for 2021, with a fourth still waiting to be declared publicly.
Russell is the one in the middle. She is an All-American at McDonald’s High School who averaged 18 points and four assists last season and had a handful of 30-point games during her high school career. Staley has already stated that Russell’s pull-up game, the ability to kick from anywhere and his passing skills will make her an audience favorite.
It is not frustrating that it is not commented on as much as the next class. Russell knows he will have a head start to gain playing time, especially during a season when the USC is replacing a four-year-old titleholder.
Eniya Russell will add a versatile guard to the list of Gamecocks. Photo provided
Ty Harris is leaving for the WNBA and the Gamecocks will open a new general floor. There is a built-in security for the winner – if in doubt, throw it to pivot 6-4 Aliyah Boston, the unanimous national freshman of the year.
“I am a player who passes first, especially with Aliyah,” said Russell. “I’ve known their style since I observed them, when I came on my visits and when they came to Maryland.”
Russell and his coach, Joe Mathews, were in the stands in November, when the USC destroyed No. 4 Terrapins 63-54, warning the country immediately that Staley’s freshman dynamos would be a force.
“In the Maryland game, South Carolina appeared and simply defeated them. They were physical and athletic and played very hard, ”said Mathews. “I think this is Eniya’s game too. She gets up in her space. I think Dawn is going to get that out of her. “
Russell’s connection to Staley goes back to each of his roots. Staley was toughened up early in pickup games in downtown Philadelphia. Russell did the same in downtown Baltimore.
“You could always tell it was really where she wanted to go,” said Mathews. “They have really followed a similar path. Dawn recruited you based on knowing where you’re coming from and how to get where you’re going. “
“We both came from the same environment. We can relate a lot, ”said Russell. “She understands me and where I come from, the obstacles I overcame.”
Russell is due to appear on campus on June 29 with the rest of the team, assuming there are no announced delays because of the coronavirus pandemic. She is looking forward to starting to fit into her new team and new style.
The next class of Staley recruits will arrive in 2021 with another feature in common. Everyone will be looking at Russell.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.