Dawn Staley describes South Carolina's roster, how depth was built, developed

Dawn Staley built quite the roster in 2023-24 that led to South Carolina’s undefeated season and national title.

It took some tinkering, and the Gamecocks practically did it on the fly, but Staley built a juggernaut. Centered around some stars and young talent, Staley’s depth was immaculate this season.

“To have a roster that goes nine, 10 deep is — it’s a privilege, it really is,” Staley said after winning the title. “But it has to be developed slowly and the right way. Like, there’s a lot of trust that has to be built because there’s some games that some of them won’t play a whole lot, especially the people that’s coming off the bench.

“Chloe Kitts went up and down and all around, and then finally she settled in today to have a really good game. But she had to come off the bench at times because of — not what she wasn’t doing, but it was more about what somebody was doing and doing well. And that can shake your confidence. But at the same time, you have to let her know the way you build trust in our coaching staff, it’s the same way your competitor is building trust.”

Staley was complimentary of other stars on her squad, such as MiLaysia Fulwiley, crediting her patience.

“I think MiLaysia Fulwiley has been very patient with us to be able to have a household name coming off the bench, playing maybe, probably less than 20 minutes a game, where she could have gone anywhere else in the country and they’d have given her the ball time and time again,” Staley said.

“But winning a national championship will allow us and that relationship to continue to grow because I know she really wanted this. And I would imagine that, come as early as next year, she’s going to want to be a starter, she’s going to want to play more minutes, she’s going to want a lot of different things because she got the big one. So now she’ll maybe want to concentrate on some individual awards. And I appreciate her sacrifice.”

Dawn Staley opens up on South Carolina development

Staley mentioned the buy-in from her entire team. Whether you’re playing 40 minutes or five, everyone has a role and patience is a virtue.

“So it’s everybody. It’s just Sania Feagin who, she’s a junior, and she’s probably started less than 10 times, but she came up crucial this game, like really,” Staley said. “I know she’s probably wanted to play a lot more throughout the season. But I hold her to her standard, I hold her to her personal and individual standard to sometimes that equates to six minutes, or five minutes or less.

“And it doesn’t feel good, but in order for us to do what we do today means she’s got to meet her standard. And we don’t sacrifice that.”

Staley must’ve embraced her Philly roots by invoking “trusting the process” in her own way too.

“So it’s built through trusting the process,” Staley said. “It’s built through really high-level communication, some that they may not like all the time, but it’s truth. We also want them to talk to us about what they’re feeling and seeing so we can understand them and how they operate in that space. So we don’t want to mess anything up, but we also want to give them an opportunity to tell us what they’re thinking and how they’re processing information or if we’re giving them the right information.

“That’s a long winded answer. Sorry.”