How Kamilla Cardoso’s effort in USC’s latest win could be key in journey to dominance
Kamilla Cardoso is a great basketball player.
She has led South Carolina — with its No. 4-in-the-nation offense (at 90.8 points per game heading into Sunday’s contest versus Mississippi State) — in scoring five times.
She averages 10.7 rebounds per game — the best individual figure on a roster with the No. 3 rebound margin in the nation (17.2). She has also swatted more opponents’ shots (41) than anyone else on a USC team that leads the nation in blocks per game with 9.5. She has all that and eight double-doubles in 14 games.
It’s impossible to knock her performance thus far this season. But it’s easy to say she could be better. She could be dominant.
Her 13-point (on 45% shooting), 14-rebound double-double in USC’s 85-66 victory Sunday over Mississippi State wasn’t the flashiest stat line she’s produced this season, but it could serve as a turning point.
The Gamecocks (14-0) worked to get Cardoso involved early after a tough scoring night (by her standards) a few days earlier against Florida, where she scored 10 points. She took several passes inside during the opening minutes, fighting hard through double teams to get to the basket. While not every shot Cardoso banked off the glass found its way through the net for some points Sunday, coach Dawn Staley cheered at her effort from the sideline.
“She was aggressive,” Staley said. “She took more shots than she normally would take in an aggressive manner. And I like it. They didn’t go in at a normal clip, but it’s a starting point. I think once she starts taking more aggressive shots, she’ll start making more aggressive shots.
“I love Kamilla’s misses because they were different.”
Staley has talked at length about Cardoso’s journey from good to great since last season and the departure of two-time National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston. Playing the role of South Carolina’s dominant post player is new for Cardoso, and one that Staley wishes she had started preparing for a little sooner.
“Kamilla kind of just waited until everyone cleared out to start imposing her will,” Staley told The State at SEC Media Day in October. “And I like to start that process well before we’re in this position because it’s just one more thing that’s new to add to what she’s already bringing to the table. But she’s doing great. She communicates well. She’s getting in extra work. She’s dominant.
“She wants it. And that’s half the battle.”
Her experience with Team Brazil at last summer’s FIBA AmeriCup, where she won gold with her team and the tournament MVP award, served as a timely confidence boost for the 2023-24 NCAA season. The next thing she needs to add to her game: midrange shots.
Not only would that aid South Carolina’s offense, but it could also boost her WNBA Draft stock should she choose to declare after this year. ESPN’s draft projections have her as a lottery pick behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Stanford’s Cameron Brink and UConn’s Paige Bueckers.
“We got to get her taking some mid-range shots,” Staley said after USC’s preseason exhibition game against Rutgers in October. “She’s there, she’s wide open, she’s got a pretty-looking shot. … It’s a 10-footer. She’s practiced it all the time and, and she’s gotta practice on taking them. So we actually force her to take a bit of practice. So hopefully we’ll have some transition to that in game.”
Once Cardoso is able to translate those skills to intercollegiate competition, the Gamecocks could become virtually unstoppable.
This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 7:00 AM with the headline "How Kamilla Cardoso’s effort in USC’s latest win could be key in journey to dominance."
