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South Carolina’s Repeat Tour begins in about a month, on November 4 in Las Vegas. Throughout the upcoming month, GamecockCentral will profile each member of the team and how she is expected to contribute this season. Going in alphabetical order, Arkansas transfer Maryam Dauda tips off this series. 

Maryam Dauda (RS Junior, Forward, 6-4)
(At Arkansas) 33 games (33 starts), 10.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 2.2 bpg (third in the SEC), 31.9 3P%
Player profile 
It’s been a while since South Carolina had a player like Dauda. She’s a shot-blocking stretch four, so the best player comparison is Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, but Dauda is bigger than Herbert Harrigan and could easily play the five. I’m struggling to remember the last time South Carolina had a center who was a true three-point threat.

Preseason assessment 
From all accounts, Dauda has made a seamless transition off the court. In July, Dauda told us about how welcoming and positive the players and coaches had been.

“If I made a mistake, someone’s just gonna come up to me and give me a high five and be like, Oh, it’s okay. Like, you can move on and everything.”

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In September, Dawn Staley talked about it being rewarding to see Dauda smile at practice.

“To see Maryam, the big smile on her face.” Style said. “It actually makes me feel good to know that when they choose to come here, they not only feel it on the visit, but when they get here it’s very much in line with how we recruited them.”

Although she has never spoken badly about her time at Arkansas, it seems clear that Dauda is happy to be in Columbia. The Gamecocks are glad to have her. 

When Dauda first committed, she was a luxury pickup, someone who could provide depth and a different look, but probably not a starter. But with presumptive starter Ashlyn Watkins suspended indefinitely, Dauda now looks like a game-changing addition

Burning question: Can Dauda make the adjustment to South Carolina’s system?
While some of Dauda’s skills – shooting, shot-blocking, footwork in the paint – translate to any style of play, what she is being asked to do now and what she was asked to do at Arkansas couldn’t be more different. 

I asked Dauda in July what the hardest adjustment was, and she said defense. 

“I felt like throughout my years of college that’s not a focus for me,” she said, “and coming here, just getting the steps right and making sure, like I need to do this when this is happening or whatever.”

One thing that has never changed with Staley is that if you don’t play defense, you don’t play at all. There is a significant chance Watkins could miss at least the beginning of the season, so both sides need Dauda to be a quick study on that end of the court. 

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