South Carolina gets long-awaited bid after tumultuous early years
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Before the season, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was talking with the team’s “print guy” about how she felt the team was going to have a great season when he said something that sparked an idea.
“He just blurted out, ‘I believe,’” Staley said. “Then, I’m like, ‘You should print some T-shirts for us!’”
Joined by hundreds of fans in the McGuire Club of the Colonial Life Arena waiting for South Carolina’s name to be called on ESPN’s women’s basketball selection show, the team wore black T-shirts with the “I believe” lettering on the front, as it has all season. The wait was short, as the Gamecocks were the third pairing revealed. Seeded fifth in the Fresno Regional, USC will play No. 12 Eastern Michigan Saturday in the first-round matchup in West Lafayette, Ind..
“I was talking to Sancheon (White) because it was the third one,” said senior Courtney Newton. “I think that’s good because we didn’t have to sit around and wait to see where we would be.”
It was fitting, as the Gamecocks have waited too long, in Staley’s opinion, for their chance to get to the only postseason that matters. When Staley took over the program four years ago, she did so because she wanted to compete with the caliber of coaching and play in the SEC, but it wasn’t smooth sailing at the start.
South Carolina finished with just 10 wins in Staley’s first season. Then, after signing the No. 2 recruit in the nation in Kelsey Bone after her first season, Staley saw one of the top talents in her program transfer, as Bone left USC for Texas A&M just a year after joining the team. Despite the blows of players transferring, the number in the win column increased with each season.
In her fourth year, with a group of seniors who had taken several years to buy in to her vision, Staley was standing at the podium, addressing the crowd and thanking everyone who has supported the team, including the group of seniors that stood by her.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty,” Staley said. “We had some players leave the program very early. We had some players that stayed, and I think that for those who have been here, they understand the process now. The process is one that if you stick with it and you’re disciplined about yourself and what this program is about, you’re going to be successful.”
Staley’s seniors will admit that it took several years to embrace the process, particularly Staley’s style of defense. Senior Charenee Stephens said that the vision was hazy after that first year where there were only 10 wins. The vision cleared up for the team last year, though the Gamecocks did fall short of a prized NCAA Tournament bid. Coming into this season, Stephens said, it was “the ultimate,” as everyone was on the same page and there wasn’t a doubt of what could be accomplished.
“It’s been tough,” Stephens said. “We are a hard working team and to see that go in vain, to not see those wins come and to come up short, it does put a damper on things. At the same time, this is what we worked for. It’s a shame that it took four years of my career to get to this point, but I feel like we do have the mentality, and we can go out and put a product on the floor that will get this win.”
The first 200 fans at the watch party received a garnet T-shirt with the accomplishments of the season listed on the back, including the most overall wins for the program since 2002, the first win over the Lady Vols at Knoxville, Tenn., since 1980 and advancing to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time in program history.
As for the team’s “I believe” shirts, the back had a similar message that would shape the season, reading “The time is now.”
“I think some of the fans told us that we need to put a ‘d’ on the end of this,” Staley said, pointing to the front of her shirt. “I believed.”