‘She’s got a gift’
Cardoso bound for WNBA after stellar season at USC
COLUMBIA − Kamilla Cardoso has outspoken love for the South Carolina women's basketball and coach Dawn Staley. She's filled with transparent gratitude, for everything the program has brought the star center.
Moments after she led the Gamecocks to a third national title, Cardoso immediately vocalized admiration for her teammates, her coaches, her family.
Cardoso's story is one the basketball community has grown to love, especially in the recent months. Growing up in Montes Claros, Brazil, she left home, to chase a basketball dream. Flying on planes, now a routine part of Cardoso's life, was her physical and metaphorical ticket to the rest of her life in 2016.
She attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and played AAU with Raven Johnson, who has remained her teammate at South Carolina.
On paper, the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament, her electric stats, and her timely moments, all can be traced to South Carolina, the home she made away from home. Now, she's about to leave home again and while she'd be the first to thank others throughout the maturation process, so much of it came from within. From her.
‘She’s gifted’ says Lisa Boyer about Kamilla Cardoso
There is an undeniable adjustment period for any WNBA rookie. The draft is April 15 and the season begins May 14. The transition is rapid and a new league is hard but South Carolina assistant coach Lisa Boyer isn't worried about Cardoso.
“Kamilla is gifted, she is very basketball savvy,” Boyer said. “There wasn't anything she didn't know, she always knew the plays, the defensive assignments, she is very bright. She gets it.”
In high school, she was an McDonald's AllAmerica. At Syracuse, she won ACC co-Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year, just to name a few, all before she even arrived in South Carolina.
Scouts, rotations, a new perspective, it didn’t matter.
“There wasn’t anything that got her tripped up,” Boyer said. “We’ve had a few kids who have come through here, it just came to them naturally, she is one of those kids.”
Boyer praised her adaptability, her nature to learn on the fly, comprehend the plays, fundamentals, with no issue. At the pro level, there will be a learning curve. The WNBA brings an increased speed, surrounded by great players. All rookies will struggle, Cardoso included. She will make mistakes but Boyer still believes she’ll understand what comes her way, regularly, consistently. She’ll adapt.
“There were times she was the focal point where people tried to take things away from her and she found another way to hurt them,” Boyer said. “By her passing, her rebounding, her defense, she didn’t quit.”
Cardoso performs her best in big moments, no surprise of those around her. Take her game-winning 3-pointer in the SEC Tournament championship game against Tennessee with 1.1 seconds left in the game. For some it looked like a miracle, but to her teammates, it was a fairytale.
Leadership is a process, on your own time
For about two years, Cardoso played behind star player Aliyah Boston with a seasoned group that she could look up to. This season was different and Staley knowing that, challenged Cardoso.
“This is going to be your team,” staff member Markeshia Grant said of Staley’s message.
Grant is responsible for team building and saw firsthand Cardoso’s evolution.
Staley essentially told Cardoso, leadership is a process; its on your own time. Cardoso’s growth was continual.
“I feel like she blossomed at the right time,” Grant said.
She aimed to better her teammates and the program.
“Her example by action was the most critical thing, she practiced hard every day, she went hard every day, she didn’t take time off of a drill, these young kids see that and it becomes their standard,” Boyer said.
Boyer said you can’t talk it, you have to walk it. Cardoso walked it.
Time to leave home. Again.
Draft projections mostly had Cardoso as the No. 4 pick but after the title win against Iowa, ESPN moved her to No. 3, swapping with Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson. If third, she’ll go to the Chicago Sky who finished under .500 last season. If she’s fourth, she could land with the Los Angeles Sparks and former Gamecocks guard Zia Cooke, the Sparks will likely take
Stanford center Cameron Brink at two.
Either way, those who had a front row seat aren’t holding their breath on where she will go.
“I don’t care what team she goes to, she’s got a gift, she is going to look pretty nice on any WNBA team,” Boyer said.
It’s daunting leaving home again but the WNBA is a new chapter, a new chance to find another family. Another home away from home.
“They are going to take care of her, they are going to see the things she can do because I do think she will bring something different no matter what team she goes to,” said Boyer. “Her physical presence, her ability, her skills. I think (any WNBA team) will be very happy with what she brings to the table.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin