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When No. 1 South Carolina faces No. 3 Southern Cal on Sunday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., the game will mark the conclusion of 'The Real SC' series, which was announced in March 2025. The event was initially designed as a home-and-home between the two USC programs, with the first game played at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and the return game set for Greenville.
At its inception, the matchup appeared to be a marquee television event, pitting the defending national champions and their superstar sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley against the other USC and its standout freshman Juju Watkins. However, Watkins suffered a torn ACL two weeks later, sidelining her for the entire 2025-26 season, and Fulwiley transferred to LSU a month after that. South Carolina won the first meeting 69-52 in Los Angeles and later defeated the Watkins-less Trojans 101-61 in Columbia during the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Now, with a new season underway, Watkins is back at full health and is joined by sophomore Jazzy Davidson, who served as the team's go-to player last year, and Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 high-school recruit. The Trojans are 3-0 but have faced three lesser opponents, including a 105-44 win over College of Charleston at Galen Center on Wednesday, with two of those games played at home.
For South Carolina, the point guard position remains a work in progress. Coach Dawn Staley has used a quartet of Tessa Johnson, Agot Makeer, Jerzy Robinson, and Brooke Quarles-Daniels at the position after Maddy McDaniel, who was expected to fill the void left by Raven Johnson's graduation, stepped away to focus on her mental health. Staley has supported that decision, but it has left the Gamecocks adapting on the fly. Quarles-Daniels, who was granted a fifth year of eligibility, is still learning Staley's system and her teammates' tendencies.
The Gamecocks have navigated a challenging non-conference slate, edging Maryland after nearly squandering a 31-point lead, defeating North Carolina, and overpowering Clemson. The first two opponents were ranked, and all three games were away from home. While the defense has been stout, the offense has often excelled in transition, with the fast break serving as the team's most reliable scoring method. Half-court execution has been merely adequate, but Staley remains patient.
"We're a work in progress," Staley said. "Tessa, Gotti, Jerzy, Brooke, they're doing a great job, actually."
Staley has made it clear that she won't force any of the quartet into a traditional point guard mold. "We don't, by any means, want them to think they are a point guard. That's not them. We're going to do the best we can," she said. "We're going to work around their skill set, we're going to work around their ability to control the game to the best of their ability."
Against Southern Cal, whoever handles point guard duties will also need to be a lockdown defender. The Trojans feature a trio of big guards in Watkins, Davidson, and Hall. Makeer guarded Davidson last year, but now there are two more heads to worry about. Some are calling this an early version of the national championship game, while others are simply hoping to see continued progress as the work gets closer to completion.
"We've got smart players. We've got bigs that have been in our program for a long time that can handle the basketball. All the pressure is not on (the point-guard quartet)," Staley said. "It is certainly a little bit inconvenient, but happy at the progress from practice to practice and now game to game."
Key Analysis
South Carolina's point guard situation remains fluid, but the team's depth and versatility have allowed it to weather the early season. The matchup against Southern Cal will test the Gamecocks' defensive adaptability and transition game, while the Trojans' return to full strength with Watkins makes this a pivotal early-season benchmark for both programs.
Originally reported by yahoo.