Everything Dawn Staley said after South Carolina's win over South Florida

South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley spoke to the media following the team’s 103-44 win over South Florida on Thursday. Here’s everything she had to say.

How do you balance giving your starters playing time without blowing out your opponent by too many points?

“We have no choice. We only have nine players that are healthy. So, there’s no choice in that somebody that plays significant minutes is always going to be on the floor. But, at the same time, we really aren’t looking at the score. We’re actually looking at discipline and playing to a standard for 40 minutes. We haven’t done that probably until today. I thought we were pretty locked in for 40 minutes. There were very little lapses defensively when it came. And I’m most proud of them because, even the ones that don’t play a whole lot, they were locked in, and they were disciplined. So, we’re making progress.

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“It’s not necessarily for today. It’s more for the standard that we need to play each and every game — and, also, to develop our bench because we had to play our starters heavy minutes for a lot of time because our bench hadn’t developed yet. But they’re slowly showing us that they’re listening, they’re learning, and they’re executing.”

Joyce (Edwards) is an amazing player with her ability to play-make, as well as shoot and play defense. How has she developed this kind of game?

“Joyce is a competitor. Joyce wants to score a lot of points, and she’s very capable of doing that. But Joyce isn’t just a scorer; she’s a really great playmaker. She can make the play that’s supposed to be made. And sometimes, you got to force her to do those things because she’s so locked in to playing advantage basketball, meaning she could probably score against anybody that’s guarding her. So, in order for us to protect that part of it, we’re challenging her to open up that part of her game where she dumps it off every so often to keep the thing that she does well — which is score at the rim, pretty good footwork — fresh. People aren’t going to double- and triple-team her, and she forces shots that way.

“She’s developing quite nicely. I think the most important thing about Joyce is she’s a competitor. She wants to win.”

There was a play in the third or fourth quarter where Adhel (Tac) didn’t finish a layup. She was visibly frustrated; she was shaking her head. She came back the next play and finished strong through the layup. Are you seeing the progress she’s been making?

“I’m seeing progress from Adhel. I think progress also comes with playing time. So, anytime that we can get her in the game, it’s always going to be good.

“Now, when she does get in the game, she puts pressure on herself to perform at a high level because that will get you extended minutes. So, I think she’ll probably get a little frustrated with herself for missing an easy shot, something that she can make. Also, just the pressure of having to play well to get extended minutes…

“But she’s been great. Adhel knows and communicates everything that we convey to our team, as coaches, to our players. She knows the game plan; she talks. She just needs the playing time to continue to get herself in a position to continue to impact the game.

The best compliment you can give somebody is when you call them a “Philly guard.” Your players are “Philly guards.” They are going to fight you for 40 minutes on 94 feet of hardwood. Is that an example of what a “Philly guard” is to you?

“Yeah, they’re pretty tough. They do play like ‘Philly guards.’ I will say that. But they’re also forced to play that way because that’s the way that we have to play really for us to be effective. I like the growth. I like the standard that they play by every single day. Sometimes, you got to force them to play up to their standard every day because they’re kids, and they have a lot going on in their lives. But, for the hour and a half, two hours that we’re in the gym, they devote themselves to their game and getting better. And because of that, they’re able to do what they they did out there on the floor tonight.”

Tessa Johnson is also a really interesting player. She’s a leader, but she also watches the floor continually with her head on a swivel. It was almost like, on both ends of the floor, she was ahead of the next play. What have you seen from her this season?

“You’ve seen someone that’s a junior now. She’s been playing in our program at a high level for two years. And now is the time. Like, your junior year is when you probably know enough to not actually have a lot of coaching. You know what is supposed to be happening out there on the floor.

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“And that’s what you’re seeing Tessa do. She’s developed into just being aware. If you want to go from average to good and good to great, it’s about awareness. And if you’re unaware, you’re missing something. You’re probably not making a play that you probably should. Tessa, on the other hand, has seen it all. Her head is always up. When she’s dribbling, when she’s defending, it’s always up, and it’s always searching around to see where she can impact the play.”

There was a moment in the game where USF had made a basket, and you were waving your hand while one of your players was walking up the court with the ball. Is playing to the standard pushing tempo on every possession?

“Yeah, it is. We have to play that way because I don’t know if our half-court sets have matured enough in order for us to walk the ball up and set up. So, we have to give ourselves a chance to score in transition first. A lot of times, defense in transition is confusion. We want to see if we can play advantage basketball by creating confusion, by playing fast. And for the most part, we’re getting better in that area.

“Maddy (McDaniel) has got to continue to push the floor because Raven (Johnson) is pushing the ball. We’ve had Raven for four or five years now, and we’re used to playing at a certain tempo. And we must continue to play that way because it helps us. I think we need to play that way this particular year because we’ve got a quick lineup that can play, that can get up and down the floor.”

Is Maddy looking like she’s close to where she was a year ago — or getting closer to that point?

“Practice time, playing time will get our players to a point where they can become reliable. I mean, what it’s all about is, ‘Can we rely on you to do a certain thing out there on the floor? Can we rely on you to play on both sides of the ball?’ You do have to get playing time to do that, but you also have to earn that, as well.”

You don’t rebuild your roster each season — you reload it. That all starts with the culture in the locker room. You can’t force it. Your players that are there buy in, and when the new ones come in, they buy in, too. How do you get that to happen?

“I mean, it’s about playing to your standard. All of our players that have played under our coaching staff, they understand that. Their mentality is to play to that. And when you don’t play to that, you stick out. So, it’s not only us coaches saying you stick out, it’s our players saying you stick out. And you can’t do those things that you’re doing.

“It takes time. You know, we have transfers come in. They’re coming in from a whole different system where it’s a lot different. When you play for us, there’s a lot of pressure that we apply to our players. There’s a lot of pressure on social media. There’s a lot of pressure nationally to perform at a certain level — or else they think you’ve fallen off the wagon, and you really aren’t the same team that you were.

“Some parts of us are not better, but some parts are better. And it takes a little bit of time for us to catch up to that. So, I’m just proud of our team and our players. They play to the standard that we need to play and perform at a high level to continue to have the success that we have.”

On turnovers, you force a turnover and, immediately, everybody is where they’re supposed to be. It’s like they communicate non-verbally, almost. How would you describe the chemistry they possess?

“They do have a pretty special connection. And I think it’s from practice. Like, things that we are executing just doesn’t show up on game day. It really doesn’t; actually, game day exposes. We always talk about bringing our practice habits to the game because we know we practice at a high level. There’s intensity to it. There’s quality, not quantity, to it. And, fortunately for us, we got players who were able to to do that. They really make us look good. They make themselves look good, as well.”

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