ALBANY, N.Y. – The first time South Carolina women's basketball's Te-Hina Paopao and Indiana's Sydney Parrish met was as high school freshmen at USA Basketball tryouts.

The two were roommates, but they never talked. Paopao doesn’t even remember it. A few years later, they were back as teammates at Oregon and became close.

Ahead of a clash between Paopao’s No. 1 Gamecocks (34-0) and Parrish’s No. 4 seed Hoosiers (26-5) in the Sweet 16 on Friday (5 p.m., ESPN) in Albany, New York, both players’ transfers have paid off, and Parrish said she can see Paopao playing with joy again.

“I feel so much more confident,” Paopao said. “It’s so much more fun. There’s so much joy to play out on the court. Just hearing that from (Parrish), it brings a lot of joy. Knowing that I did make the right decision.”

Sweet 16 is filled with Oregon transfers

Paopao and Parrish played together at Oregon, part of the Ducks’ top-rated 2020 recruiting class. The class was stacked with five-stars, also featuring Maddie Scherr, Angela Dugalić and Kylee Watson.

All five have since transferred. Dugalić plays for UCLA and Watson is at Notre Dame. Both are in Albany for the Sweet 16, though Watson is out after injuring her knee in the ACC Tournament. Scherr is back in the transfer portal after two seasons at Kentucky.

“Seeing that progress we’ve made, it’s not easy to transfer,” Parrish said. “A lot of work that’s put in – you put it all away to go somewhere else. Just to see everyone being successful at their new place, it’s just amazing to see. We cheer each other on all the time.”

Those Oregon teammates have since traveled together, making a trip to Tallahassee to see friends on the Florida State football team last summer. They still regularly text in group chats and message each other before games.

“It’s bittersweet knowing we could’ve been in this together,” Paopao said. “At the end of the day, sometimes it’s not always going to be sweet. I miss them, I miss playing with them and I’m really happy their journeys have taken them we’re they’re at.”

South Carolina, Dawn Staley brought back Paopao’s love for basketball

In the 2022-23 season, as the lone remaining player from the 2020 class, Paopao started to lose her joy for basketball. Parrish said she noticed watching from afar.

Paopao transferred to South Carolina last offseason, sparking a reinvigorated love for the game.

“It has a lot to do with the coaching,” Parrish said. “Credit to Dawn Staley and (Indiana) coach (Teri) Moren on my side. When you have a coach that wants to win for you as much as they want to win for themselves, I think that’s a big part of it.”

Paopao said Staley has brought her confidence both as a player and as a person. She grew her game with South Carolina, making USBWA second-team All-American and leading the nation by making 3-pointers at a 47.6% clip.

“(Staley)’s had a great impact on my life on and off the court,” Paopao said. “On the court, she’s a mastermind on the basketball and she knows what she’s doing. … She’s been helping me as a point guard, just making the right reads and giving me confidence on the court. Off the court, she just teaches discipline.”

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Paopao averaged 11.2 points and 3.8 assists to help the Gamecocks go undefeated. Parrish has been similarly successful with the Hoosiers, averaging 10.4 points and recording career-highs with 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

That joy Staley brought back to Paopao has been a driving factor in the change and recognition she’s received.

“Just seeing that she loves the game again, and you can just tell when she’s playing,” Parrish said. “She’s been playing great this year.”

Evan Gerike covers South Carolina women's basketball for the Greenville News. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Dawn Staley helps Te-Hina Paopao find joy with South Carolina transfer