Madina Okot is ‘scratching the surface.’ South Carolina needs her to be dominant
Dawn Staley has been blessed with dominant post players season after season at South Carolina.
The talents of such players as A’ja Wilson, Alaina Coates, Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso have been pivotal in the 18-year run Staley has had with the Gamecocks, a run that’s produced three national titles and nine SEC tournament championships.
This year, South Carolina’s roster has two holes the size of Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins. Kitts is out for the year with an injury, while Watkins is taking the year off from basketball.
Staley and the Gamecocks are hoping that 6-foot-6 Madina Okot, an offseason transfer portal acquisition from Mississippi State, will be the next dominant post presence for that South Carolina .
“I truly am glad that we have her, and truly glad to work with her and just hopefully help take her to the next level,” Staley said of Okot after last week’s exhibition win over Anderson.
Okot finished with 12 points and four rebounds in South Carolina’s regular season opening win against Grand Canyon on Monday. She played 17 minutes in the game, the least of the Gamecocks starters.
“It’s going to take some time for her to get there and we’re going to push her towards that,” Staley said. “I’m hoping she didn’t like her play. I’m hoping she didn’t like the 17 minutes that she played and comes back. You just have to figure out how, and when, or where those buttons are to push.”
Okot averaged a double-double in South Carolina’s two exhibition games, highlighted by a 17-point performance against Anderson that also included 15 rebounds and six blocks. Okot recorded 11 points and six rebounds in an exhibition against North Carolina.
“You can see her dominance,” Staley said after the Anderson game. “It ebbs and flows, but you can actually see it. Once you see it, you can build on it. Really, just really scratching the surface when it comes to the things that she could do out there.”
The center found herself in foul trouble during the Gamecocks’ last two games. She recorded three personal fouls in the exhibition against UNC and again against Grand Canyon.
Monday’s fouls forced Staley to get creative with the lineup and put four guards on the floor. After the UNC exhibition, Staley didn’t seem too concerned about Okot’s foul trouble.
“They put her in a position where she either fouled, and she did,” Staley said. “But she’ll make the adjustment. I think we did some switching. Put her in a position where she had to guard some guards that attacked her. She’s got to do a better job at getting in a stance, she’s just too upright. Because she can guard. Like, she can guard a guard. There’s no doubt in my mind, if we’re switching with her, that she can guard a guard.”
The Gamecocks are just one game into the 2025-26 season — and Okot is only in her second season of basketball in the United States (she played in her native Kenya, previously) — but Staley has already seen some signs of Okot’s full potential and expects her to have a large impact.
On Monday, Staley went as far as to say a lot of South Carolina’s success this season hinges on Okot’s production and her ability to impact the game.
“We need a dominant big,” Staley said. “We need Madina to step up. I mean, Joyce is going to do her thing, but we need Madina. ... We need Madina to be dominant, no doubt about it. I don’t think we go very far if we don’t have her contributing a little more than what she’s doing.”
Next four games
- Friday: vs Bowling Green, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Tuesday: vs Clemson, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Saturday, Nov. 15: vs Southern Cal in The Real SC in Los Angeles 9 p.m. (FOX)
- Wednesday, Nov. 19: vs Winthrop, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
