Everything Dawn Staley said previewing South Carolina's upcoming game against NC State

South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley spoke to the media on Friday to preview the team’s upcoming game against NC State. Here’s everything she had to say.

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Opening statement on Ashlyn Watkins’ return to the team

“I’m going to make this statement about Ashlyn (Watkins). Ashlyn is back. We welcome her back. We’re going to let her get acclimated to being back on the team, and we look forward to just having our entire team back in the fold.”

On how it feels to have Watkins back

“We’re at our very best when we got our full roster, especially healthy. So, it feels good, it feels natural – it doesn’t feel unnatural to us. It feels like we’re complete now.”

On how Watkins has looked in practice since her return

“She looks great. The Highlighters might throw a little rust comment at her, but she looks natural.”

On what Watkins being acclimated means

“Haven’t been here, now she’s here. She’s got to get acclimated to the being here, doing 12:30 (p.m.) to 3:30 (p.m.). Her schedule is probably a little bit off, so just getting back to her normal routine, her daily routine.”

On whether Watkins will play against NC State on Sunday

“If she’s out here, she’s gonna play, right?”

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On what kind of test NC State will give the Gamecocks

“They do know us, we know them. I’m sure they want the result to be a lot different than what it was back in April, and we want the same results. Neither one of us is playing at that quality of play, obviously. It’s a very early game in the season, and, all of us, we have to knock some rust off. Hopefully, we just put on a really good game for women’s basketball and not set our game back.

On playing NC State again so soon after their most recent matchup

“It is (unique). Who knew when we scheduled them that it would be in such a fashion of a Final Four matchup – a rematch of the Final Four. I think it’s cool. I think it’s great for women’s basketball, and, hopefully, we don’t let our game down.

On Staley’s message to South Carolina’s players after close win over Michigan

“My message was for all of our team. We weren’t that team – we haven’t been that team in a very long time. That wasn’t rust – that was just us not approaching the game probably the right way that we need to approach it. It was just not us. It wasn’t the habits that we created. So, hopefully, we got back to the habits this week.

“We talked about a lot of things, we talked about how we felt. We got it out, we responded well on Wednesday, had a really good day today. So, hopefully, we get another prep day in, and we get back to being the team that showed up in Memphis and showed up here against Clayton State.”

On how Sania Feagin has responded to two-point performance

“She’s responded. (Sania) Feagin doesn’t really have it. I don’t have an issue with Feagin in practice. It’s just – she’s got to give us a little bit more to start the basketball game. So, we’re going to see. We got one more prep day. Ashlyn won’t start, I can tell you that.”

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On how South Carolina’s players have attacked practice this week

“I think every single player fell short of how they really wanted to play, even Chloe (Kitts). Chloe had a double-double, but she took some ill-advised shots. We’re just not that type of team, and they’ve taken responsibility.

“Raven (Johnson), everybody’s taking responsibility performing at top level the way that we need to perform so everybody looks good.”

On whether Staley would have handled a “shock to the system” game earlier in coaching career

“I mean, basketball is really simple – it really is. You create habits, and you execute your habits; when you don’t, you lose. So, it’s the same approach.

On whether Watkins is prepared for any potential blowback that may come her way

“Listen, the charges have been dismissed, okay? (Their) on their way to expungement. Is it a hard thing for a young person to deal with? Absolutely. It was hard for all the young people that were involved in the altercation. It’s hard for our university and our athletics department. It’s hard for even the solicitor’s office, it’s hard for her lawyers – it’s hard for everybody. But I imagine that this is the first time that it’s happened on any campus. So, you deal with it head on, just like Ashlyn did, and now she finds herself back. We’re not going to keep revisiting it – we’re going to keep getting better and making better decisions.

“Ashlyn will be who she is. She’s created some really good habits and, you saw her make a terrible mistake that, if she could do it all over again, she’ll do it again. She got teammates, she got coaches, she’s got support system, she’s got family. So, you know, people are gonna be people. She’s going to ignore them, obviously. And if it gets to her to a point, then I’m gonna take up for her – because that’s what we’re supposed to do.”

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