All products featured on Self are independently selected by our editors.
However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
These last few weeks, a bunch of college stars have taken their first steps into the pro world.
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
And were here to watch every minute of it.
One player weve got our eye on?
Read on for the pivotal moments that formed Cardosos path to the WNBA.
Kamilla Cardoso grew up as an active kid in Brazil.
She loved watching and playing sports, includingswimmingand diving, but she wasnt particularly drawn to basketball.
After one tournament, a sports agent approached Cardoso and suggested she look for basketball opportunities outside of Brazil.
She moved to the US as a teenager to further her game.
In the clip, Cardoso missed several shots, but Hunt looked past that.
High school ball helped her hone her skills.
At first, Cardoso said she felt out of place and unqualified on her new team in Tennessee.
In an interview withThe Athletic, she said, I was tall and I could make the layups.
But besides that, I didnt have any other skills.
I was like, Maybe Im not meant to be playing here.
But she had a highly supportive team and staff during her four years at Hamilton Heights.
Competitors constant blocking forced her to become more aware of her teammatesand thus, an expert passer.
To help with the language barrier, Cardosos teammates also called plays in Portuguese.
Throughout her high school years,ESPNrepeatedly pointed to Cardosos off-the-charts potential.
At the college level, she first signed with Syracuse.
Hillsman described Cardoso toSyracuse.comas a once-in-a-decade kid they couldnt pass up.
She was also Syracuses highest-rated high school recruit ever for the program.
Cardoso accepted a scholarship to join the Orange in 2020 and started her collegiate career with a bang.
In her best performance of the season, Cardoso sank 24 points and made seven rebounds against Boston College.
Cardoso then transferred to the University of South Carolina.
The Orange lost to the University of Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2021.
Soon after, Cardosoentered the transfer portal, confirming that she was looking for a new team and coach.
And she found it with the Gamecocks.
She was instrumental in the Gamecockss Championship wins.
And she only built upon that momentum in her senior year.
So I think that’s what I did.
She was drafted to the Chicago Sky.
But for Cardoso, the decision was a matter of providing for her family in Brazil.
Before the draft, she told The Athletic, Hopefully I can make it to the WNBA.
If not, [Ill] just go play overseas and just keep taking care of my family.
