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Juco player of year Sakima Walker commits to Dawn Staley, South Carolina women's basketball

Emily Adams, Greenville News
·2 min read
13

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball added a transfer commitment Friday from Sakima Walker, the reigning National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year.

Walker, a 6-foot-5 center, initially committed to Rutgers as the No. 63 player in the nation for the Class of 2020. She appeared in 32 games over two seasons with the Scarlet Knights, averaging 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds shooting 49.3% from the field in 2021-22. The Columbus, Ohio, native then transferred to Northwest Florida State College to play last season.

Walker started all 32 games and led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks, averaging 16.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. She shot 59.8% from the field and 52.6% on 19 3-point attempts.

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Walker is the Gamecocks' second transfer of 2023, joining former Oregon point guard Te-Hina Paopao.

South Carolina finished with a program-best 36-1 record this season and reached its third consecutive Final Four, where it suffered its only loss of the season to Iowa. The Gamecocks graduated seven seniors, including the entire starting lineup, and returns just four players that averaged at least 10 minutes per game in 2022-23.

Sakima Walker, the girls basketball Athlete of the Year, was named first-team all-state in leading Africentric to a Division III state semifinal that was canceled because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Sakima Walker, the girls basketball Athlete of the Year, was named first-team all-state in leading Africentric to a Division III state semifinal that was canceled because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Walker is a clear replacement for former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston, the 6-5 forward who averaged 13 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks per game in 2022-23. Boston, the two-time Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and 2022 consensus national player of the year, was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.

The Gamecocks have been selective in the transfer portal over the past several seasons, but players they have added have been high-impact. Junior Kamilla Cardoso, who transferred from Syracuse in 2021, was the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year and is the team's top returning scorer and rebounder. Kierra Fletcher, a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech, was South Carolina's starting point guard in 2022-23.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley lands Sakima Walker for South Carolina women's basketball