COLUMBIA, S.C. — Elite skills are a prerequisite, of course, for any opponent hoping to travel to South Carolina and keep up with Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks. But in addition to speed, toughness, killer shooting and a smooth handle, you have to maintain your composure.
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That’s because playing No. 6 South Carolina is, in a word, distressing. It’s 40 minutes of sensory overload, with defenders picking up at full court and hassling their marks down the floor and into the outstretched arms and active hands of the help defense.