"She's not one that complains": Dawn Staley lauds South Carolina's 18-year-old star for mature approach

Since last month, South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley has constantly spoken to the media about suffering from too much talent on her team. Staley has highlighted the 'selection' dilemma she faces not due to results but limited minutes for players. Even Thursday, Staley gave Chloe Kitts only eight minutes of action in their blowout 82-46 victory over Charleston Southern Buccaneers.

The Gamecocks's highest scorer was 18-year-old Joyce Edwards, who scored 20 points on 66.7% shooting. Surprisingly, she was the team's only double-digit scorer, with Coach Staley distributing the minutes among all 12 available players.

In the post-game press conference, she was asked if Edwards complained about the lack of minutes she got.

"(Oh yeah) I mean there's no question Joyce is going to play for us, there's no question," Staley responded. "So no, she's not one that complains.”

Dawn Staley further explained how her staff deals with this situation and her team's mature outlook.

​

“I think we do a really good job at explaining to our players, in real time, and we don't give them time to go back and think about you know what we meant by this or that," she added.

"Real time we are handling situations so they can deal with them in real time. Because when you don't, they go back, they hear other people say what should be happening and less on what we're saying so we just get it out and we move on. And we have short memories when it comes to it, we hit it and we move.”

What's next for Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks?

Going into the holiday season, South Carolina has one fixture remaining this year against Wofford. Following this, the Gamecocks have an action-packed January, during which they will face four ranked teams, among other SEC opponents.

While they will face the Texas Longhorns (Jan. 12), Oklahoma Sooners (Jan. 19) and Tennessee Lady Vols (Jan. 27), arguably the most exciting matchup will be against Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers on Jan. 23 at the Colonial Life Arena. These two teams last played each other in the SEC Tournament final and South Carolina prevailed 79-72.

Dawn Staley celebrates South Carolina's victory over LSU Lady Tigers to win the SEC Tournament in the 2023-24 season. [Credits: Getty]

The South Carolina Gamecocks have a record of 11-1 this season, with the only defeat coming against UCLA, snapping their 43-game win streak. Per Dawn Staley, one of the biggest challenges they face going into the holiday season is to stay locked in.

Staley hilariously admitted that she had to "threaten" her team to prevent them from being lax during the holiday season.

​