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Last week Joyce Edwards met with local media for the first time since she began practicing with the Gamecocks. She talked about how she balances the demands on her time, her welcome-to-college moment, and what part of her game she wants to improve.
Q: What’s the story behind number eight? I know you had to change from your high school number 12.
Edwards: I did. It was just a new number. Recently you can wear new numbers, you know, 6, 7, 8, 9. So obviously I couldn’t have 12 (MiLaysia Fulwiley’s number), so I wanted a new number that nobody had. A fresh start. I want to make this number iconic. So that’s the goal.
Q: No Kobe influence or anything?
Edwards: I know. Yeah, Kobe is number eight. (Make it iconic) for women’s basketball.
Q: What do you like to do outside of basketball?
Edwards: I love watching movies. I love watching movies. I watch movies. I hang with my family, go shopping occasionally, try not to spend too much money. I feel like those are the two biggest things. I like turning on a Disney movie and just going to sleep.
Q: Top three or five Disney movies?
Edwards: The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Brave, Moana, and Inside Out.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about the start of the season?
Edwards: I don’t want to say I’m looking forward to the end of the season so it will be over with, but to see the growth. I’m so excited to see the growth of me within the game of college basketball, and I feel like that’s my biggest thing.
Q: Last week we were talking about your busy summer. Are you here for the rest of the summer?
Edwards: This is our last summer. So I am stuck (here).
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Q: How do you balance all these other opportunities that obviously you want to take advantage of with basketball?
Edwards: I feel like it’s prioritizing. You’ve got basketball is number one – well, school is number one. School’s number one, then basketball comes second. But I feel like all the NIL stuff when it comes is gonna come naturally. You just gotta make it work. I feel you just gotta do it. If you don’t, it’s not the end of the world, there’s gonna be other opportunities to make money and get your name out there. But, yeah, it’s school first, basketball second, then the rest will take care of it.
Q: Was there a welcome-to-college moment for you either on or off the court?
Edwards: Yeah. Probably it was within the first two practices, and I got my shot blocked.
Q: Who blocked it?
Edwards: It was like three people. It was Ash (Watkins), (Sania) Fagan, and Kima (Walker). And that was crazy. In high school, you know, you ain’t gonna ever see that. I feel like that was a good thing. It kind of hits you, you know, you’re here. It’s time to put the work in. It’s all good though. You just learn from it. You grow. That never happened again, so obviously I learned something.
Q: Is there anything like off the court that’s happened where you’re like, Oh, I’m in college now. I’m not in high school anymore?
Edwards: I feel like school is, I don’t want to say it’s hard because right now I’m only taking an online public speaking class, but it’s definitely different. Because you have your class, and in high school it’s just class, but (in college) you also have prep, and you’ve got tutors and stuff like that. That’s just different. Just like doing extra stuff with academics, where I wouldn’t necessarily before.
Q: What positions are you working at right now?
Edwards: Four, three.
Q: What area do you want to improve on most before the season starts?
Edwards: Definitely my three-point shot. Just getting more consistent and then also having the confidence to shoot it. I feel like one of my biggest things right now is not having the confidence to shoot it. I’m definitely going to work on it.
Q: You were shooting with confidence with team USA (Edwards hit a pair of threes in the U18 AmeriCup gold medal game).
Edwards: I did, but it’s also the speed of getting a shot up soon. Just confidence. I’m gonna get it.
Q: Working on your three-point shot, is it you need more reps, or is it more working on mechanics?
Edwards: Probably it’s more reps. Obviously I want to be consistent in everything, so I kind of work on everything but three-point shots, specifically I want to focus on just to be able to stretch the floors. It’s just getting reps up.
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Q: You’re probably the most decorated athlete in any sport ever signed with South Carolina. Any pressure?
Edwards: (Laughs) Not for me. Pressure is only what you put on yourself. Other people may have expectations. Of course everybody can have expectations. I’m not really worried about it, you know, I’m only here just to play ball and go to school, so just taking it day by day.
Q: What have your teammates told you about, dealing with the expectations, dealing with the pressure?
Edwards: Shoot, especially going 38-0 last year, they have a lot of pressure. I feel like me as a newcomer, as a freshmen, I don’t have as much pressure on me. I know they have a lot of pressure on themselves. But just wanting to do good for them. It’s not pressure I put on myself, but I feel like I want to do good for them and for my team. So I just do everything in my power to be able to do that.
Q: Would it be fair to say that you’re approaching it as, don’t rock the boat, like they’ve got a good thing going? It’s your job to come in and, fit in with what they’re already doing.
Edwards: That’s exactly mindset. I’m not trying to come in and change anything, or come in and do anything dramatic, or try to drop 20 every game or something. Just get in where you fit in. Do what you can to help the team.
Q: Coach Staley sometimes talks to players about superpowers. Do you feel like you’ve got a superpower?
Edwards: Yeah, I feel like my mid-range side is one of the best things for me right now. I feel like I get it open a lot. I feel like I can use it a lot in practice, and I feel like it gets me open for other things like driving and stuff like that.
The post South Carolina women’s basketball: Getting to know Joyce Edwards appeared first on On3 .
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