Dawn Staley addresses her motivational style, praises buy-in from South Carolina parents

South Carolina has completed consecutive regular seasons with an undefeated record and is about to begin another quest for postseason glory in this week’s SEC Tournament and then in the NCAA tourney later in the month.

With the Gamecocks owning a flawless mark in SEC play, they have the No. 1 seed in the tournament and await other matchups before having to play themselves. So, head coach Dawn Staley was in the building watching Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State on Thursday morning, with the winner facing Carolina the next day, and stopped by the SEC Network crew at halftime.

As part of her appearance, Staley was asked how she keeps her teams motivated to seemingly never lose games. She wasn’t so sure that motivation is the key.

“I don’t even think I’m a motivator,” shared Staley. “I think I’m a look, sound, feel person. So if something looks, sounds or feels off, I’m going to address it. If it looks, sounds or feels great, I’m gonna address it.”

Staley says she’s just very meticulous as a coach, and strictly disciplined.

“It’s more just being disciplined,” Staley said. “I’m a disciplined person, and if something is off-centered a little bit, I got to straighten it out. I got a little OCD, so that helps my team, because everything has a place, and if something’s out of place, then we got to put it in place.”

That’s Staley as a ball coach. But the SEC Network crew also wondered what sort of characteristics off the court have helped South Carolina maintain such an elite standard. Surprisingly, Dawn Staley didn’t credit the coaching staff or the players.

“I’m gonna tell you this: I’m very fortunate to have great parents,” Staley said. “When you have great parents, you’re able to have communication with them, have communication with their daughters, and there’s an understanding. So their daughters are plugged in by our coaching staff and their parents. So we keep everything well-communicated so no one’s caught off guard by anything. We’re doing it together. Like, when you come to South Carolina, parents are included in everything that we do.”

Lastly, Dawn Staley was asked about some recent great news, that Oregon transfer and fourth-year guard Te-Hina Paopao will exercise her fifth COVID year and return to South Carolina for a second season. Staley recalled that Paopao didn’t really have her mind made up as of a month ago but quickly realized she wanted to remain a Gamecock.

“Pao is super cool. You know, I did say ‘I want to talk to you about your future’ I think maybe four or five weeks ago, but she sat down and said (she) really hadn’t thought about it,” Staley said. “Then, the next day or two, she was like ‘I love everything. I love our coaching staff. I love my teammates. I love Gamecock Nation. I want to come back.'”

That’s a pretty resounding answer, and another positive development for a South Carolina women’s hoops program that is on fire in 2023-24.