How Dawn Staley helped former Gamecock Sahnya Jah get a fresh start in the ACC
In March 2024, Adia Barnes went straight to the source.
Barnes was the head coach of Arizona women’s basketball at the time, and she was recruiting former South Carolina forward Sahnya Jah out of the transfer portal.
Barnes knew Jah was talented. She also knew Jah’s Gamecocks tenure had ended poorly — she was suspended indefinitely from team activities in February 2024 for “conduct detrimental to the team” and never appeared in another game for USC and Staley before hitting the portal.
So Barnes called up South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, who she considers a good friend.
“Dawn, I know that she didn’t play most of the year,” Barnes said, recalling their conversation about Jah. “Is she worth taking?”
Staley didn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” she told Barnes.
Staley’s endorsement was a key factor in Barnes’ decision to recruit Jah to Arizona. A year and a half later, Barnes not only stands by the decision but thinks Jah — who followed Barnes to SMU when she accepted the job in April — could be in line for her best season yet.
“If Dawn would have told me, ‘Absolutely not,’ I wouldn’t have taken her,” Barnes said Monday from Charlotte during the ACC Tipoff preseason basketball media event. “But I think people make mistakes, and I do believe in second chances. … Everybody needs different things. I think I could’ve said, ‘Oh, I’m not bringing her.’ But I said to bring her, and I’m really glad I did.”
Recapping Sahnya Jah’s hoops career
Jah’s college basketball career has been a whirlwind. Coming out of high school, she was a four-star recruit, the No. 40 player in her recruiting class and an intriguing talent on the wing who’d led Montverde (Fla.) Academy to a GEICO high school national championship.
Her playing time on a loaded Gamecocks roster was limited during her freshman season, but Jah averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game and flashed plenty of potential that indicated she could be another one of Staley’s USC success stories.
But South Carolina suspended Jah from the team indefinitely in February 2024 during SEC play, and she never suited up for USC again before entering the portal the following month.
During her first season at Arizona last year, Jah averaged a career-high 6.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game. But she only appeared in 18 of 33 games for Barnes’ team and did not play for roughly two months from late January to mid-March because of an NCAA suspension, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Staley would not say why Jah had been suspended at South Carolina. Barnes did not give any specifics on Jah’s suspensions at South Carolina and Arizona on Monday, but she spoke candidly about Jah, describing the forward as “a kid that you have to invest in.”
“You’ve just gotta keep her in line,” Barnes said. “She can go sideways for a second. You’ve just got to get her back. But she’s a good person, and she has a good heart. She’s just young. I think I did young, stupid stuff when I was her age, too.”
Adia Barnes on Jah’s ‘tremendous potential’
Jah was one of three players who followed Barnes to Dallas this offseason after she accepted the head coaching job in April at SMU (which joined the ACC as an expansion team in 2024).
Barnes raved about Jah’s growth and potential in her one year coaching the former Gamecock, who is one of four USC transfers playing for another team this season (guard MiLaysia Fulwiley at LSU, guard Talaysia Cooper at Tennessee and forward Sakima Walker at Cal).
“From last year to this year, it’s been a 180, really,” Barnes said.
Staley was publicly supportive of Jah after she transferred from South Carolina, saying that Jah would always be a part of the Gamecocks family and she would help her find a good landing spot. Barnes said Staley’s endorsement was a determining factor in her signing of Jah.
“I understand that I have to keep a tight rein on her, but that’s OK,” Barnes said. “I think every player is different and needs different things. I needed a lot my first couple years (as a player at Arizona), and then the light bulb went off.”
Now, Jah has the opportunity to play significant minutes for a new-look SMU team made up exclusively of transfers and high school freshmen.
“Just watching how much she’s matured even in a year has been great,” Barnes said of Jah. “Or else I wouldn’t have brought her. So I believe in her. I believe — I know — that she has a tremendous amount of potential, and I just want her to be successful.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
