Everything Dawn Staley said previewing South Carolina's upcoming game against East Carolina
South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley spoke to the media on Friday to preview the team’s upcoming game against East Carolina. Here’s everything she had to say.
On whether Tessa Johnson will play on Sunday
“I doubt it.”
On what Staley sees in East Carolina
“It’s going to be tough game. They are well-coached, they all can score, they all want to score, so they’re going to force our defense – every single person that’s on the floor – to defend one-on-one. We got to trust our help, got to rebound the basketball and, most importantly, probably have to take care of the basketball because they’ll press us. They’ll zone. They’ll make us think a little bit, so they’ll just try to get us out of our rhythm.
On limiting turnovers in the fourth quarter against Coppin State
“I mean, it’s 18- to 22-year-olds. When they decide to do something, they’ll continue to do it. And when they don’t – when they’re ready to shut it down – they’ll shut it down. You make them aware of it. You try to get them to not as much as possible – just try to get this crowd going in that way and take chances and play high-risk, high-reward basketball. So, we just settled down a little bit, probably shot more. We shot it, rather than turn it over.
On building lineups based on situational play
“It’s all of it. All of it is about matchups and where you can create mismatches. Sometimes, people create mismatches because we we’re big, so they’ll play a smaller lineup. Then you think about, ‘Well, okay. What big can can keep up with a guard? Which one understands what we’re doing; which one is the communicator? Which one is able to take on the challenge of actually creating the mismatch in favor of us? Who can post up?’ You take into consideration all of it, but you got to get the right people out there that can actually execute what.”
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On Maryam Dauda’s performance against Coppin State
“Great. We need more like that. Maryam (Dauda) is a tough one. I want her to play because I want her old team not to look and see, like, ‘Hey, you left us to go there and sit the bench.’ And it’s not. We’re going to find opportunities for her to play, but she’s got to she’s got to meet us. There are certain things that we need her to do. Sometimes, sitting the bench will allow them to see those things and speed up the process. But she’s always working. She’s always looking at film, she’s always in the gym, she’s always wanting to learn. That’s what I like about her. I’ll spend a lot more time with somebody that is willing to do their part to change their circumstances.”
On South Carolina’s halfcourt performance through three games
“I liked our pace from the first game – that’s one. What I don’t like is us taking bad shots – just ill-advised. Nobody knows you’re taking the shot. Nobody’s there to rebound, which puts our transition defense at a disadvantage. So, no, I don’t like bad shots.”
