All she wanted was 4 dribbles.
In South Carolina’s season opener in opposition to Notre Dame, MiLaysia Fulwiley made headlines after she blew by a swarm of inexperienced jerseys with an elite behind-the-back transfer, ending with aptitude.
The Gamecocks would go on to dominate the Combating Irish, 100-71, of their season opener held in Paris, France. Fulwiley completed the sport with 17 factors, six assists and 6 steals in her collegiate debut. And it didn’t take lengthy for her compelling stat line and spotlight clips to flood timelines.
Phrase traveled 4,000 miles again to the USA: a star was on the rise.
Gamecocks followers had been enlivened, haters had been quieted and the world was placed on discover. Since then, Fulwiley has simply stored on hoopin’. The Columbia, S.C. native is a burst of velocity, simple swagger and outfitted with a shot-making capability and handles. It’s been clear from the beginning that she is particular, and since then, she’s been in her first season, averaging 11.7 factors and logging 82 assists and 63 steals. Her season crescendoed into the SEC Match remaining matchup in opposition to LSU, the place she dropped 24 factors off the bench. The silky-smooth sorcerer of the basketball was then rightfully topped the SEC Match MVP.
“MiLaysia is a generational participant, an artist who’s increasing her understanding of easy methods to marry all features of her recreation each day,” South Carolina head coach Daybreak Staley mentioned, per a press launch asserting Fulwiley had signed with Curry Model. “We’re studying issues from one another about easy methods to maximize her recreation, and it has been unbelievable to work along with her on that course of.”
Her flashy recreation is transcendent. “Relating to the flexibility to vary the sport for good, no one can communicate to that greater than MiLaysia,” Stephen Curry mentioned. “She’s altering the ladies’s recreation on the fly with how she performs and strikes on the court docket.”
Whereas Fulwiley’s offensive prowess is simple, that isn’t all she will do. Regardless of being a pure scorer, Fulwiley isn’t afraid to indicate up on the defensive finish of the ground: she grabbed 9 boards in opposition to East Carolina and has a number of video games with six steals. And most impressively, she does all of this whereas coming off the bench.
It’s loopy to suppose Fulwiley is barely a freshman, however then once more, she’s serving to lead a brand new era of phenoms who don’t simply obtained subsequent, however proper now. Look no additional than her, SLAM 248 cowl star Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo (to call just a few), and even her personal teammate, Tessa Johnson, who additionally dropped buckets in final night time’s iconic championship win in opposition to Iowa.
Underneath the steerage of head coach Daybreak Staley, Fulwiley has shined all season lengthy. What we witnessed from her on this 12 months’s NCAA match is only a glimpse of what she will do: jaw-dropping performs, unreal dimes and finishes on the rim. She’s enjoyable, she’s obtained aptitude and he or she’s simply getting began.
Images through Getty Pictures.