With two of the most experienced members of its backcourt sidelined with injury, No. 5 South Carolina needs some help and depth at the guard position — and the Gamecocks could have it soon enough.
Junior Te’a Cooper transferred to USC from Tennessee this past offseason, and coach Dawn Staley said at SEC media day that the program would request a waiver to allow Cooper to bypass NCAA rules that require undergraduate transfers to sit out a season and play immediately. Almost two weeks later, just as the season was about to start, Staley reversed course, saying the team would apply for the waiver in December.