BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bree Hall calls Aliyah Boston almost every day.

As the South Carolina women's basketball junior prepares for a brand new role, she's leaning on one of the best players to come through the program. Boston, a former National Player of the Year for the Gamecocks, just finished her first season in the WNBA and unanimously won the Rookie of the Year.

"I'm asking her for advice – what should I do about this? What should I do about these situations?" Hall said at SEC Media Day on Thursday. "Having her just always in my corner and having that person to always rely on when I need to ask a question, when I don't know something, or just simple leadership questions. I mean, I always go to her."

Hall's conversations with other members of the "Freshies", like with Laeticia Amihere and Zia Cooke, are lighter and a little more fun. But all of them are just a phone call away as Hall steps into a leadership role and the program enters a new era.

It's uncharted territory for the returners, moving forward without players who were a staple of the program for four years. Players who only lost one home game, who led the team to six SEC titles, three straight Final Four berths and an NCAA championship.

Hall won't have to shoulder the responsibility of leading the team alone, though. Redshirt sophomore point guard Raven Johnson, senior guard Te-Hina Paopao, who transferred from Oregon, and senior center Kamilla Cardoso will all share the load. Cardoso's development as a vocal leader in particular has been rapid, Hall said.

"You hear Kamilla," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "You didn't hear her in the past two years that she's been with us. She's communicative, she's energetic. ... Now she's saying a whole lot because there's a big void left with our graduation of last year's team. That's what you want to see. You don't want to force them to do it. She knows who's next up. Now she's embracing that role for us."

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Being a leader is a learning process for Hall, Staley said. She has made efforts to be more vocal and she's balancing it well, but she doesn't want that to take away from what she's doing on the court.

If it does, Staley would rather her focus on handling the heavy load of a larger role and going every rep instead of every third rep. Hall being "on" every practice is more important.

"She's doing a great job of balancing it right now," Staley said. "We haven't played any games, and we know that mentally it's going to take a toll. What's going to happen if she has a bad game or two bad games, consecutive bad games? That's where you'll see where she is in her progress."

But as Hall grows into her new role, Staley is there to instill belief in her.

"She has been in my ear, making sure I'm very confident on the court and (I) know that this is something I can do," Hall said. "I really needed that the most."

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Dawn Staley on Bree Hall, South Carolina women's basketball changes