South Carolina women's basketball: Dawn Staley embraces the Repeat Tour mentality
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Raven Johnson dubbed last season her “Revenge Tour,” her response to an embarrassing viral moment in South Carolina’s semifinal loss to Iowa. As the season progressed and the wins piled up – without any losses – that defiant theme became embraced by the entire team.
The Revenge Tour ended with an undefeated national championship and the ultimate revenge, beating Iowa, the team that upset South Carolina the year before. The confetti was still on the court in Cleveland when Johnson dubbed this season the “Repeat Tour.”
“Repeat Tour” is a bolder statement than “Revenge Tour.” FAMs might call it confidence, some might call it swagger, and detractors might call it arrogant. In truth, it’s probably a little bit of all three.
“Did they play with the swagger like they were good last year?” Dawn Staley asked, somewhat rhetorically. “I don’t think they are going to sway too far from them. It’s a new way for me as a coach, because I’m probably more traditional – let’s prep (seriously). And they’re like, Okay, we’re prepping, but we’re having fun along with it. So yes, they’re going to be the same.”
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It is definitely different from the approach previous teams, particularly those led by the Freshies, took. Those teams were careful not to say anything that could become bulletin board material. They were focused on the process. Not this team, which has leaned into the “daycare” moniker Staely bestowed upon them last March.
“They’re opening me up to a new way of just coaching, like accepting certain things,” she said. “It’s their identity. That’s who they are. I’m not going to change who they are. You ain’t gonna win that. I know when to cut my losses. I’m not gonna win that part of it. So I’m just going to enjoy it with them. I will enjoy that probably a lot better with them this year because I know them a little bit more. I know they are, despite them having fun and talking a whole lot and Tiktok-ing, I know they’re grasping the information that they need in order for us to compete at a high level every game.”
In the past, Staley might have tried to micromanage the team. She might have tried to rein in some of the personalities or quiet the Repeat Tour talk. She used to ban social media during the season for exactly this reason.
Now, if players want to talk about going back-to-back, or going undefeated, Staley largely tunes it out. She focuses on trying to get the team better every day.
“They want to win another one. They want to go undefeated,” she said. “When you get a taste of it, you really want to follow up. How realistic it was last year? I don’t know. How realistic it is this year? Still in the same spot. I don’t know.”
And the daycare mentality? Alive and well.
“They have not made it to preschool,” Staley said. “We’re still very much in the midst of daycare. And I don’t care, because if they can win us the national championship, and if they can follow up and do it again, let’s go daycare.”
