SEC Coaches Tip Gamecocks as Champs, Wilson Player of the Year
Nov. 3, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” Southeastern Conference women’s basketball coaches voted South Carolina the preseason favorite to win the league title again this season. It is the third consecutive head coach Dawn Staley’s peers have tipped her team as the likely champion. SEC coaches also predicted that junior forward A’ja Wilson will repeat as SEC Player of the Year and that senior center Alaina Coates will join her on the All-SEC First Team.
Ranked No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll, the Gamecocks are coming off a perfect 16-0 SEC record, which yielded their third-straight regular-season title, in 2015-16 and are one of just three teams in the nation to boast two returning All-Americans in the lineup in Coates and Wilson. Junior transfers Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray will take the court in the Garnet and Black for the first time after the 2015 First-Team All-ACC selections sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Both amassed 1,000 career points in just two seasons at their previous schools. Staley also added four freshmen to her squad, led by FIBA U18 Americas Championship gold medalist Tyasha Harris.
Wilson was a consensus All-American and finalist for all three national player of the awards in 2015-16 after becoming just the second player in league history to earn both SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. She was 12th in the nation in blocked shots (3.12) and 38th in field goal percentage (.531), leading the SEC in both categories. Wilson was also among the league’s top five scorers (5th, 16.3 ppg) and rebounders (4th, 8.7 rpg). She further elevated her game in SEC play, during which she led the team with 16.3 points on 54.5 percent field goal shooting.
Coates continued to be a dominating force inside for South Carolina, forcing opponents to prepare for her on both sides of the ball. The three-time All-SEC selection captured her first spot on the first team last season and drew honorable mention All-America honors from both the Associated Press and the WBCA. The Wade Trophy finalist ranked ninth in the nation in double-doubles with 20 and 19th in rebounding average (10.3), leading the SEC in both categories. Coates averaged a double-double both overall and in SEC play, becoming the first Gamecock to do so in either category since the early 1990s. She reached the 1,000 career point plateau and became just the fifth Gamecock to do it while also reeling in 900 career rebounds. Coates shined brightest in NCAA Tournament play, yet again, recording a double-double in each of the Gamecocks’ three games to earn a spot on the NCAA Sioux Falls Regional All-Tournament Team.
Season tickets are available now via the website, GamecocksOnline.com/tickets, or by calling the South Carolina Ticket Office at 1-800-4SC-FANS (472-3267). Prices start at $30 for general admission seating.
SEC Preseason Media Poll
1. South Carolina
2. Mississippi State
3. Tennessee
4. Florida
5. Kentucky
6. Auburn
7. Missouri
8. Texas A&M
9. Vanderbilt
10. Arkansas
11. LSU
12. Georgia
13. Alabama
14. Ole Miss Preseason Player of the Year
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina Preseason All-SEC First Team
Jessica Jackson, Arkansas
Ronni Williams, Florida
Mykala Epps, Kentucky
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Alaina Coates, South Carolina
A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
Diamond DeShields, Tennessee Preseason All-SEC Second Team
Brandy Montgomery, Auburn
Elenna Christinaki, Florida
Shandricka Sessom, Ole Miss
Dominique Dillingham, Mississippi State
Morgan William, Mississippi State
Mercedes Russell, Tennessee
Marqu’es Webb, Vanderbilt
