‘Seeing this ring ... made it all sink in’: USC receives national championship bling

CHAMPS.

It’s what South Carolina’s band spelled out during halftime Saturday, and it summed everything up nicely as the 2016-2017 Gamecock women’s basketball team received their national championship rings, another memorable moment in an offseason filled with them.

As fans cheered at Williams-Brice Stadium, coaches, staff and players received their rings in boxes from university President Harris Pastides, then opened them together.

For All-American senior A’ja Wilson, who will try to lead the Gamecocks to a repeat title this year, it was a powerful moment that added fuel to her motivation for the upcoming season, which opens Nov. 3 with an exhibition game.

“I don’t think the hunger (to win again) ever really left us, honestly. But just seeing this ring really kind of made it all sink in that we really did this,” Wilson said. “I was telling (former teammate Allisha Gray) I don’t think it really hit, but it’s definitely hit me now that this is big, this is huge, but I’m definitely hungry to get back out there.”

For Gray, now a WNBA player for the Dallas Wings who capped off her first season with the Rookie of the Year award, it was another reminder of the seemingly charmed life she’s had for the past year.

“I almost started crying out there ... just seeing all this hard work we put in for a year, to come out with a national championship, it was just amazing. I was so emotional, it was so great, I’m still shaking,” Gray said. “All the glory to God because this has been an amazing year. National championship, Rookie of the Year, I don’t know what could happen next but, hopefully, it goes up from here.”

For Kaela Davis, another graduate who starred on last year’s squad and has made her way to the pro ranks, the entire weekend was a reunion with teammates – and fans – with whom she shares an unbreakable bond.

“The year we had, we have so many stories and so many different things we went through, so to be able to reminisce a little bit is pretty cool,” Davis said. “This is an amazing place. There’s always memories here. I’m excited to have moments like this where I can come back and see people I haven’t seen in a while.”

And for coach Dawn Staley, it was both a warm trip down memory lane and a way to propel her team moving forward

“We’ve closed the book (on last season), obviously,” Staley said. “But good books you go back to, you read several pages from it. And, obviously, we took a page out of the book of last season. ... We’ll reflect. The journey was an incredible journey and it’s one that we don’t want to forget, because we’ll draw on these experiences that we’ve had over the past year to help us move forward with this upcoming season.”

As for the ring itself – a hefty piece of jewelry with the NCAA championship trophy represented in gold on the top – Staley said it’s the perfect incentive for this year’s team, both new and returning players.

“I don’t know what more can motivate you besides seeing something as beautiful as this,” Staley said. “And having another one to go with it? I figure that would make you work pretty hard.”

Staley also responded to several social media users who criticized the decision to have the ceremony at halftime of a football game instead of at Colonial Life Arena with the program’s fans.

“We got a lot of flak for ... having it at a football game, but what better way?” Staley said. “The ovation, to share it with as many people as possible, is a tremendous thing. I’ve done things and received recognition at a football game, and it’s like no other. I wanted our players to experience that. We will have something for our fans. But we know opening night will be filled with the banner raising, and we wanted to give this an appropriate place and we didn’t want this to get lost in anything. It helps us relive that moment again and share it with so many people.”

If the Gamecocks are to repeat as national champions, they’ll have to go through Connecticut, which returns most of its players from last year’s 36-1 team and was recently ranked No. 1 in the USA Today coaches preseason poll. But as Davis sees it, Saturday’s ceremony is just the first of many.

“It’s UConn, they’ve established they’re dynasty,” Davis said of the preseason favorites. “I think it’s the start of ours.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 11:40 PM with the headline "‘Seeing this ring ... made it all sink in’: USC receives national championship bling."