Dawn Staley praises sixth-woman play of forward Ashlyn Watkins on College GameDay

South Carolina’s women’s hoops team has an emerging star off the bench with 6’3 sophomore forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is on a tear this month.

Over the Gamecock’s last six games, Watkins has averaged 12.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.2 steals per game for the undefeated No. 1 team in the country. She’s also shooing 66% from the field and grabbing nearly four offensive rebounds per game in that span.

During Sunday’s edition of College GameDay ahead of the South Carolina game against Georgia, Gamecock head coach Dawn Staley joined the show to discuss how South Carolina reloaded for such a dominant season so far. One big help has been the emergence of Ashlyn Watkins, who Staley praised while the broadcast showed highlights of the game vs. UConn, featuring several where she scored.

Here was Staley’s breakdown of Watkins in the post, where she’s at her best.

“Ashlyn’s putting herself in a position where she’s great: on the block, in the paint, it’s over. That’s the money-making position. If Ashlyn gets anybody in that position, it’s a bucket,” detailed Staley.

“I mean, Ashlyn has been elevating her play. You know, sometimes we look at the other post players and it can take you back. If you’re a starter, you’re Chloe (Kitts), it’s like, ‘damn, Ashlyn is playing, like, is she gonna take my starting position?’ And I say ‘no,’ because we’re going to keep it how it is.”

Staley knows that you have to handle such lineup decisions with delicacy, even if you simply have to play the hot hand.

“Sometimes, your teammates aren’t necessarily not playing well, it’s just, you got a player that’s elevated her game and you got to ride it until the cows come home,” Staley added.

In this specific situation, Dawn Staley says that Watkins is just fine coming off the bench, and has certain aspirations in that regard.

“So we’re not going to change our starting lineup,” Staley clarified. “Ashlyn wants to be the Sixth Player of the Year in the SEC. She’s got a goal. She’ll play starter minutes, though.”

Watkins has started in a couple of SEC games but has largely come off the bench, though, as Staley said, she plays the fifth-most minutes per night on the team since the start of conference play. But she’s playing as many minutes as anyone, 27 per night, over the last six games.