Chloe Kitts has shown a lot of growth in her Sophomore season at South Carolina. Even if you haven’t watched the Gamecocks this year, by now, you’ve heard about her story of leaving high school midway through last season. The master plan of the early enrollment was led by Coach Dawn Staley and co-signed by Kitts and her family. Hardly seeing the floor her freshman year, averaging 7 minutes per game, she found herself learning more of the “Gamecock way” than making plays.
Coach Staley has built a steady pipeline of talented young women, but the way she instills in them the need to nurture each other’s dreams along their journeys is heartwarming. Brea Beal was Kitts’ sister from another mother who made sure she acclimated to her new student-athlete life.
Fast forwarding to the present day, Kitts is in the thick of the rotation for Coach Staley’s squad, averaging 19 minutes per game and even having a hot start in the biggest game of the season against LSU. The sophomore scored 7 of the first 11 points against the Tigers. How did she get her team going in an intense game?
COLUMBIA — Chloe Kitts feels the most at peace on an empty gym floor.
When the South Carolina women’s basketball freshman can’t sleep or just needs to get out of her head, she takes the minute-long walk from her dorm to the Gamecocks’ practice facility. She works out on her own, sometimes until 2 or 3 a.m., finding a meditative state the in echoing bounce of the ball and electric hum of the fluorescent lights.
“I prefer working out late … I just have a lot of thoughts, and working out makes it better,” Kitts said. “It’s my alone time for sure … I’ll have the whole gym for a couple hours and I’ll shoot, then lay on the floor, then shoot. I love it alone.”