Dawn Staley, South Carolina don’t need a chip on their shoulders entering NCAA tournament

It is ironic to hear the chorus of complaints about the success of South Carolina’s women’s basketball program over the past few years, whether it’s commentary about McDonald’s All Americans, physicality, or the site of the conference championship. For the criticisms about the Gamecocks’ style of play, it’s head coach Dawn Staley and her team who’ve had to endure the bulk of the cheap shots.

Some say success is the best revenge, and South Carolina is quite the case study. They’ve won two of the last three titles and nine of the last 11 Southeastern Conference tournament titles, in addition to countless individual and team awards for coaches, players and alumni. But that still doesn’t answer the question of why Staley, who takes pride in being an ambassador for the women’s game, is met with such unnecessary contempt.

There are moments when it feels like pushback from the coaching elite, such as UConn head coach Geno Auriemma’s comments after South Carolina came into their building and escaped with an 81-77 win back in 2023:

“It’s just appalling what teams do to her now,” he said in defense of then-Huskies wing Lou Lopez Senechal, who he told the media had bruises on her body from the game. “It’s not basketball anymore. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not basketball.”

Staley responded as emphatically as I can ever remember on her radio show, saying when her team has success, “we’re called something other than players that are locked in.”

“They play the right way,” she continued, “and approach it the right way whether they win or lose. We don’t denounce anybody’s play. They are always uplifting the game of women’s basketball, and when we were getting our heads beat in by UConn for all those years, I said nothing.”

The dichotomy that Staley spoke of at the time was the elephant in the room. When South Carolina lost its first seven games to UConn during her tenure, it was expected. UConn and Tennessee were the darlings of women’s college hoops, the only “controversy” being an uncontested basket for an injured Nykesha Sales. But some of Staley’s peers in coaching responded to the dawn of a new era much like the men’s game responded to Georgetown’s John Thompson, and it leads us to infer that the coaching establishment has a problem with brown people who are unapologetically Black.

But there are also moments that feel like more of a bitter betrayal, such as Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks’ golden-arched insinuation after the Wildcats’ 78-66 loss to the Gamecocks: “They were bringing in McDonald’s All Americans for McDonald’s All Americans,” Brooks said. “Going down the stretch, I think it was four minutes to go, it was like maybe a one-possession game, and that really elevated them.”

Staley responded in kind with a quick-hit video where she sounded more like Dawn from En Vogue than Dawn from Philly. “Ba-da-ba-ba-ba, I’m loving it,” she crooned, a callback to the iconic McDonald’s jingle. But anyone who has seen Staley’s support of Black coaches, particularly Gamecocks men’s coach Lamont Paris, can note just how tone-deaf Brooks’ words really were. One of Staley’s iconic quotes is “keeping the main thing the main thing,” and when it comes to Black coaches, networking and promoting one another is essential. It was disappointing to hear Brooks’ take, which not only trivialized the hard work behind Staley’s success, but also diminished his own players.

It’s impossible to look at the current landscape of women’s hoops and not see how it is a referendum on race and class. 

Back in 2023, Auriemma’s “not basketball” comment made way for then-Iowa coach Lisa Bluder’s “bar fight” bit, a reference to the Gamecocks’ physicality before their Final Four matchup. South Carolina players contended that Bluder’s language impacted the referees during the game, but even that calamitous loss grew the game because it effectively introduced then-Iowa guard Caitlin Clark to the nation.

Staley came back a year later in a rematch with Iowa in the title game, and by all accounts, could have reveled in an undefeated season capped with a win over the team that eliminated them last year. But not only did Staley shout out Clark, she deferred the accomplishment of the actual title to a higher power. “We serve an unbelievable God,” she said. “Uncommon favor.”

That requires a level of grace and greatness that is unattainable to most, and clearly shows the thin line between criticism and contempt. By all accounts, Staley has become immune to criticism, and I say this as someone who notices how people respond to (rare) Gamecocks losses. They are referendums on Staley’s ability to coach, whether it was how Clark sliced through South Carolina’s defense in 2023, or how UConn put an abrupt end to the Gamecocks’ home winning streak earlier this year.

But to stay in tune with Staley’s religious rhetoric, every setback has allowed for a major comeback. The heartbreaking Iowa loss made way for an undefeated season the following year. And the UConn blowout, which came after a tough loss to Texas, lit a fire underneath the Gamecocks, most notably Chloe Kitts.

Where the coach’s responses have been largely reserved in these moments, the players have been a bit more spicy. Raven Johnson was the unheralded star of last year’s final game with her exceptional defense on Clark, and admitted that revenge was a driving factor. And in the SEC title game, Bree Hall said her inspired defense against Madison Booker was in response to Booker’s declaration that Hall “can’t f-ing guard me” in the second of two regular-season matchups.

If the SEC championship was any indication, folks would do well to stop talking about Big Macs and suggesting that Staley’s program is a meritocracy devoid of hard work and X’s and O’s. The champs are mad again, thanks to UCLA edging South Carolina out for the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.

“I’m a little bit surprised because we manufactured our schedule to be the No. 1 overall seed,” Staley told Rowe. “It’s hard enough to win a national championship; we don’t need a chip on our shoulder.”

History suggests the opposite in terms of added motivation. In the face of petty squabbles, we’ve seen Staley and the Gamecocks “squabble up.” And over the last decade, despite an unprecedented amount of parity in the women’s game, one team has represented the gold standard – South Carolina.