Confetti collection: South Carolina WBB has a place for all that colorful paper
Every time South Carolina wins a postseason tournament, it keeps the confetti. And those colorful flecks of paper from all over the country found a permanent home in the Gamecocks basketball offices.
Pieces from USC’s first SEC Tournament title in 2015 are going on 9 years old. Batches of confetti from the seven conference championships (2016-18, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024) and two national championships (2017, 2022) since are all part of coach Dawn Staley’s collection.
No. 1 South Carolina added more to Staley’s stock Sunday with an Elite Eight win over Oregon State in the Albany Regional 1. White, blue, red, orange and navy confetti covered the court in MVP Arena and came home with the Gamecocks that night.
Plastic bags are brought to every game that could end in a confetti shower for the Gamecocks. Various players, coaches and other members of the team’s staff stuff handfuls into their pockets and championship ball caps during post-game festivities.
While folks take turns cutting down the net and posing for pictures, others collect fistfuls to store in the bags, which are labeled according to the event their contents came from.
When South Carolina returns home, the bags are emptied. Some pieces are strewn all over the conference room on Blossom Street. Others are poured into and around their corresponding trophy, forever enshrined in glass just down the hall from Staley’s office. That is, until USC builds a new trophy case.
The current one is quite full.
This story was originally published April 1, 2024 at 7:15 AM.
