As the Gamecocks approach the final stretch of regular season play, freshman forward Joyce Edwards has emerged as a key factor on the court for South Carolina's women's basketball team.
Edwards, a Camden, South Carolina native, was the No. 3 recruit in the nation coming out of Camden High School. She was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2024. Edwards was also co-MVP of the 2024 McDonald's All-American game and helped lead the USA FIBA U18 and U19 teams to two gold medals.
Edwards wasn’t just a normal player recruited by head coach Dawn Staley. Staley went out of her way to create a specific major for her through the school’s honors college.
Edwards is on the pre-law track and takes her academics seriously. Staley had an environmental engineering major just for Edwards so she would consider South Carolina to further her academic and athletic journey.
“That was a big red flag for South Carolina. They didn’t necessarily have my major and I don’t think I was going to go there because of that,” Edwards said. “(Staley) was working hard to figure out a way for me to get the best of both worlds.”
Staley would attend meetings with Edwards and ask questions for her about the academic programs to get her to attend South Carolina. Months later in November 2023, Edwards announced her commitment to the Gamecocks.
In a recent postgame conference after No. 2 South Carolina beat then-No. 5 LSU, Staley spoke highly of Edwards' performance.
“Joyce is going to be the best player in college basketball one day,” Staley said. “I say that only because of her work ethic and her intellect and her want, she's highly motivated.”
Staley also compared her to former South Carolina women’s basketball star Aliyah Boston, a two-time National Player of the Year, five-time gold medalist with USA basketball and and a key leader in the Gamecocks 2022 National Championship run.
So far this season, Edwards has been named SEC Freshman of the Week three times; twice in a row in January and once in December.
Edwards currently leads the Gamecocks in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per game. She has led the team in scoring in 10 of 24 games played, with five of them being against ranked opponents.
“Joyce puts herself in a position to where it is quite natural for her to shoot it,” Staley said. “She puts herself in a position where she gets the ball to the paint and then she's got two-move capability.”
Yet, scoring isn’t Edwards’ main focus in her game plan.
“I really don’t go out there necessarily looking to score, I'm just giving what the defense gives me,” Edwards said.
She scored a career-high 21 points in just 23 minutes off the bench against then-No. 19 Alabama on Jan. 16.
When former South Carolina star forward A’ja Wilson was in town for her jersey retirement, Staley told Wilson to look at Edwards.
“Her IQ is something that is going to take her far and she is already becoming a pro at a young age,” Wilson said. “Just that patience and the IQ she plays with is crazy, it's insane, I wish I had that patience as a freshman.”
Wilson even went as far as to compare herself to Edwards in her time at South Carolina.
“I do see a little bit of myself in Joyce and that is good considering my college career," Wilson said. "She is going to be perfect.”
After South Carolina’s win against Auburn, Edwards led the team with 18 points and spent the most time on the court out of the team.
Staley commented on how Edwards has been playing recently and how she goes about her time on the court.
“She plays basketball the right way. When you play it the right way it looks easy," Staley said. "She’s playing incredibly well at a really good pace where she is seeing it and she's able to make really good decisions."
Staley acknowledged that she believes she should be in the running for National Freshman of the Year. Staley also commented on her role on the team and what she brings.
“Joyce injects what we need. She has the physical presence to guard," Staley said. " She plays with huge bravado on both sides of the basketball.”
What’s Next?
Edwards and the Gamecocks will play the Florida Gators at Colonial Life Arena on Thursday. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.