WATCH: Former South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso attends top-ranked sophomore Kaleena Smith at Nike Nationals
Former South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso was spotted courtside during the ongoing Nike Nationals on Saturday. Cardoso was in Chicago to witness one of the top recruits, Kaleena Smith, as the point guard battled it out against the Fairfax Stars.
Smith is representing Team Taurasi in the 17 EYBL Nike Nationals and added a solid 24 points, 7 assists and 7 rebound performances in her first game of the competition.
An Instagram post by Sports Center Next displays a few highlights of her while showcasing Kamilla Cardoso scouting the young hooper and posing for the camera with her fans.
Ontario native Kaleena Smith is a 5-foot-5 guard who has made waves on the high school circuit due to her ability to control the game and use her size to her advantage.
She already has nearly 20 offers from Division 1 programs like USC, UCLA, UConn, Arizona, and South Carolina. Kamilla Cardoso's presence indicates that she could soon be a top candidate on Dawn Staley's radar.
Hours after defeating the Fairfax Stars 87-55, Kaleena Smith led her team to a win against Michigan Crossover (86-59). Moreover, her squad then cruised past the Philly Rise with an 83-66 win. Team Taurasi is now one of the best teams in the competition and has an average win margin of 23 points.
Smith is the second-best scorer of Nike's annual competition, with averages of 27.0 points, 8.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Her next battle is against Team Durant on July 20.
How is Kamilla Cardoso performing in her rookie season
Cardoso is one of the 10 former Gamecocks players in the WNBA and one of 15 players who were trained under Dawn Staley’s coaching.
Drafted third overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2024 draft, her big league career saw a slow start due to a shoulder injury early in her preseason debut.
Nevertheless, she has immediately impacted winning for the Sky behind her averages of 8.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 46.1% from the field across 17 games.
Her best game came during a win against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever behind a 16-point and 10-rebound triple-double, one of her three triple-doubles at the all-star break.
Cardoso was one of the top 36 players selected to carve out the 2024 WNBA all-star team. Even though she did not make the cut, Cardoso holds plenty of promise for the Sky.