COLUMBIA, S.C. — In the first two rounds of the women’s N.C.A.A. basketball tournament, it became clear why Dawn Staley calls Laeticia Amihere the most versatile player she has ever coached at South Carolina.
A lithe, 6-foot-4-inch reserve forward, Amihere, 21, can play and defend all five positions on the court. Against Norfolk State and South Florida in the opening rounds, she shadowed point guards above the 3-point line, guarded forwards on the wing, led the fast break and slashed into the lane for jumpers and follow shots. At one point, she emphatically swatted a shot at one end of the floor and sprinted with the elegant stride of an 400-meter runner for a layup on the other end.
“It’s not like there’s a drop-off no matter what position that she plays,” Staley said. “I’ve never coached anybody that comes with that much determination. Put her anywhere.”
Amihere’s basketball career, beset early by knee injuries sustained in high school outside of Toronto and later by family bereavement, has flourished of late: She was a member of Canada’s Olympic team at the 2021 Tokyo Games and of the 2022 national championship team at South Carolina. She has been an activist for equal treatment of female players by the N.C.A.A. And she is the founder of a nonprofit…
