South Carolina’s “Point Guard by Committee”: Staley Explains her Vision Approach. / sportsearchers.com

South Carolina’s exhibition opener against College of Charleston offered a clear preview of how Dawn Staley plans to handle the program’s biggest offseason question — point guard — with the Gamecocks confirming their “point guard by committee” strategy in their public debut.

The Committee in Action

Tessa Johnson was nominally the starting point guard, sharing duties with Agot Makeer, while Brooke Quarles-Daniels handled the role off the bench with the second unit. Notably, South Carolina usually kept two of the three on the floor simultaneously, whether due to limited roster availability (six players sat out, including freshman Jerzy Robinson) or intentional design. The results were, as the analysis puts it, “okay.”

Strong Individual Production

Johnson, Makeer, and third starting guard Jordan Lee each dished out three assists, all scored in double figures, and defended effectively — Johnson led the way with 23 points and three steals. Staley explained her vision for the position: “We want them to be point guards in bringing the ball up the floor. Then after they give it up, which we want them to give it up early, even if that’s working through our bigs, then they can be who they naturally are. Be shooters, be scorers, be aggressive on the offensive side of the basketball.”

Quarles-Daniels posted modest numbers — four points and one assist — but given she’s only been with the team for a few weeks and still learning the playbook, her limited output isn’t a major concern.

Team-Wide Assist and Rebounding Concerns

More troubling was South Carolina’s overall ball movement: just 12 total assists on 33 made baskets, a notable drop from last season’s average of 18 assists on 32.5 baskets, along with 15 turnovers. Rebounding also fell short of expectations, with guards combining for just 11 rebounds (six from Johnson) and the team finishing only plus-six on the glass. Staley was direct about the issue extending beyond the frontcourt: “We need to get better boxing out, even from the guard position. It wasn’t just a big problem, it was a guard problem as well.”

Joyce Edwards as the “Point Forward”

Perhaps the most notable structural development was how frequently the point guards simply got the ball to Joyce Edwards at the top of the key and let her initiate offense from there — a continuation of last season’s approach that Staley expects to see even more of this year: “If you really thought about it, they initiated the offense last year. You’ll probably see a little bit more this year because of the point guards that we have playing the position.” Edwards finished with 28 points but just two assists — down from her 2.4 assist average last season — though that dip is partly explained by both teams running intentionally limited playbooks.

Kitts’ Eventual Return Will Add Playmaking

Chloe Kitts, not quite a year removed from her ACL tear, didn’t play Sunday but is expected to add further ball-handling once healthy — she played lead guard in high school, averaged 1.4 and 1.9 assists her sophomore and junior seasons respectively, and once recorded a 10-assist triple-double against Ole Miss. Edwards confirmed both forwards are comfortable sharing those responsibilities: “Definitely. I feel like, especially me and Chloe, we’re versatile forwards. The offense can really start with anybody. We understand that, and we do what we need to do to get in the flow.”

Looking Ahead

South Carolina’s next public exhibition comes October 23 against Benedict, giving the staff another opportunity to refine the point guard rotation and address the rebounding and ball-movement concerns that surfaced in this first look at the 2026-27 roster.