As Gamecocks prepare for ‘potent’ Alabama, Dawn Staley seeks ‘great teaching moments’
It has been more than a dozen years since Dawn Staley and South Carolina women’s basketball have lost to Alabama — that last defeat came on Jan. 10, 2008, in Staley’s first season with the Gamecocks. And since then, Carolina has won 16 in a row in the SEC series.
But as No. 5 USC prepares for a Monday night visit to play the Crimson Tide, Staley was quick to note that Alabama “has always given us some challenges.” And this year in particular, she added, could be one of the biggest yet for her young team coming off its SEC-opening win over Florida.
“They’re actually probably more potent this year than any other year, because they have some senior leadership,” Staley said of the Tide. “They can score the basketball, they defend, they’re going to stay in their matchup zone for the most part. They’re gritty, they’re tough, all the intangibles along with having skilled players.”
Alabama does feature a veteran-heavy lineup, featuring three seniors and two juniors. And despite being picked to finish eighth in the conference in the coaches preseason poll, the Crimson Tide have gotten off to a fast start at 8-0, including wins over Oklahoma State and Missouri.
A key component of their success has been the frontcourt senior duo of Ariyah Copeland and Jasmine Walker, who have combined to average 37.7 points and 16.8 rebounds per game so far this year. While Walker leads the team in scoring and rebounding and shoots over 40% from 3-point range, Copeland has been efficient as well, leading the conference in field-goal percentage at 73.2%.
“Jasmine Walker is definitely a pro, because she’s very, very skillful. And she’s selfless and she’s selfish when she needs to be. And, you know, she’s been in our league a long time, and she understands how to play this game and put herself and her teammates in a great position to be effective,” Staley said. “And I can’t not mention Copeland, who’s (been) tremendous, 73% from the floor. Definitely we have to make sure that we’re winning the points in the paint.”
To do so, the Gamecocks will likely rely on another big game from sophomore forward Aliyah Boston, who emerged from a mini-slump against Florida to post a career-high 28 points to go with 16 rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
Beyond that, Staley still wants to see more growth and leadership emerge from her young roster — the team’s lone senior, LeLe Grissett, comes off the bench — and against a veteran squad like Alabama, strong voices could be key.
“I’ve been a real strong encourager in that look, sound, feel — something looks like it’s supposed to look, great. When it doesn’t, you got to address it. And you got to address it with communication, and for this particular team, I take any kind of communication that will ruffle their feathers a little bit,” Staley said.
The Gamecocks head coach got that in practice Saturday when Grissett took sophomore forward Laeticia Amihere to task in practice for failing to help on an assignment in transition defense, before Amihere pushed back a little.
“So we actually let them talk it out, and then we took the entire team over to the monitor,” Staley said. “And we just watched it, and we just kind of let them talk it out. I mean, I love the fact that they had that type of interaction, because that’s where growth takes place, is having an understanding. But I liked it. I don’t I don’t think LA liked that LeLe called her out. But you have to welcome that type of situation.”
For the record, Staley said, the senior Grissett was right. But the particulars of the disagreement were secondary to the bigger picture.
“Do we want to get back and continue to scrimmage? Yes, but scrimmaging can happen at any time,” Staley said. “But those instances are great teaching moments. And we as our staff had to take that time to teach them and to show them by by real examples.”
NEXT USC BASKETBALL GAME
Who: No. 5 South Carolina (6-1) vs. Alabama (8-0)
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 3:00 PM.
