Dawn Staley gets huge applause at South Carolina spring game
South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has already cemented her legacy as one of the game’s all-time greats. She led the Gamecocks to a perfect season this year, the first time a women’s team has finished with an unblemished record since UConn did it in 2016. South Carolina finished 38-0 this year, bringing home the 2024 National Championship in the process. Amid all the success she’s had, Staley hasn’t forgotten to support the football team in Columbia, and she was on hand on Saturday to watch the Gamecocks’ spring game.
She got a major round of applause, and all the kids were excited to get autographs from the future Hall of Famer.
Dawn Staley has built South Carolina into a powerhouse
Staley has built South Carolina women’s basketball into one of the nation’s most dominant programs over the years, leading them to six Final Fours in the last eight NCAA Tournaments (2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). During her 15 seasons there, she’s already brought in three national championships (2017, 2022, and 2024).
During her college basketball playing career, Staley was one of the greatest players in Virginia women’s basketball history during her time with the Cavaliers. She had her jersey retired. Once she wrapped up her career there, she scored more than 2,000 points, had more than 700 rebounds, more than 700 assists, and more than 400 steals, becoming the only women’s basketball player in ACC history to accomplish the feat.
South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer was talking to the broadcast booth on ESPN-plus for much of the spring game broadcast. It seemed like a difficult juggling act, but he seemed to manage his way around it.
QB LaNorris Sellers was named the Offensive Player of the Spring for the Gamecocks. He dazzled during the spring game, completing 9 of 11 passes for 70 yards, while rushing for 38 yards and a touchdown on just five attempts. The dynamic dual threat hopes to take the confidence he’s found from the spring and roll that over into the fall.
South Carolina will open up their 2024 campaign against Old Dominion. That one will be played on Saturday, August 31st. Then they’ll begin SEC play against Kentucky, before taking on LSU at home on Saturday, Sept. 14th.