July 19, 2004
Columbia, S.C. – Columbia native Lauren Simms came to South Carolina last year as a true freshman and opened some eyes around the Southeastern Conference with her play. She averaged 9.3 points per game in addition to recording 42 steals en route to earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
With success comes responsibility, and Simms is making a point this off-season of establishing a team-first mentality.
“With a year of experience now, I am going to make a point of leading by example and being more vocal,” Simms said. “We believe as a team that we can do better, and we have been looking good during the off-season. This team is motivated, and I now consider it to be one of my responsibilities to get everyone motivated and on the same page.”
Simms has made a commitment to improving herself physically during the off-season to prepare herself for the rigors of SEC play. There is no conference in America that is as talented and deep as the one in which Simms and the Gamecocks compete.
“Physically, I am working on getting stronger in the upper body,” Simms said. “It gets rough out there in the SEC, and I need to get stronger so I can take that kind of pounding. I’m also doing a lot of work on improving my quickness.”
Simms has targeted various aspects of her game for improvement this off-season as well.
“My jump shot has to get more consistent,” Simms said. “That needs to be a steady part of my game. I am also working on getting better defensively and really attacking more on defense. My ball-handling is another area I am focusing on, because I might be at the point a little more this year, and I need to be ready.”
Simms said a typical day for her starts at 6:30 a.m. She goes to class from 8-10:15, then lifts weights from 11:00 until noon, rotating upper and lower body exercises every other day. She then returns to the classroom from 1:00-2:15, before going in for treatment. At 6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she joins with her teammates in playing pick-up games against former Gamecock players and people from the community. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she and her teammates are on the track running. She then goes home, does her homework and goes to sleep.
“We struggled as a team last year, but we are motivated to do better this year,” Simms said. “This team is capable of a lot,” Simms said. “We are building team chemistry off the court, which translates when we get on the court. We know we are capable of winning every game we play, and we are really getting to know each other’s styles.”
Simms credits the South Carolina coaching staff as a group that has helped her to improve her game, both physically and mentally.
“We have a real good mix of coaches,” Simms said. “They have different styles and techniques. Coach Marciniak has won a national championship and went on to the WNBA, so she can really help with her perspective. Coach Baldwin keeps everything funny and gets us on the same page. Coach Hill-MacDonald has been around the game for a long time and has seen a lot. Coach Walvius is the leader.”
With the addition of Linda Hill-MacDonald to the USC staff this off-season, Simms sees an opportunity for a return to greatness for the Gamecocks. When Hill-MacDonald teamed with Susan Walvius from 2000-03, the duo led South Carolina to a trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament as well as back-to-back top-25 final national rankings. Hill-MacDonald has served as a head coach in the WNBA, leading the Cleveland Rockers to the Eastern Conference Championship in 1998.
“It will be good to have her here, Simms said of Hill-MacDonald. “She’s going to bring some good energy to this program. She is an excellent coach with an excellent reputation, and she will really help us out.”
While Simms said the Gamecock coaching staff has helped her game develop on the court, she said she has also learned a lot about herself since enrolling at the University of South Carolina.
“I have learned that I can’t sit back and just get by,” Simms said. “I’ve also gotten more organized and have improved my time management. South Carolina is a really good school with very good academic programs. The science program I am in is very good.”
