Dawn Staley supports Kamilla Cardoso

Dawn Staley supports Kamilla Cardoso.

South Carolin head coach Dawn Staley attended the preview of “Full Court Press” in Indianapolis on Monday.

The new docu-series will cover the present season of senior Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, senior South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso and sophomore UCLA guard KiKi Rice. It is produced by ESPN and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions.

South Carolina’s current player Adhel Tac and former players Aliyah Boston and Victaria Saxton accompanied Staley to the preview. The coach posted pictures from the evening on Instagram with the caption:

“When one of us is in the spotlight we show up and show out. @gamecockwbb is in the building seeing @kamilla_cardoso docuseries. Congrats KMill!! We love you! @lehda.aaa @victariasaxton @aliyah.boston”

This is not the first time Staley has shown her support for Cardoso. On Thursday, the Chicago Sky played the Minnesota Lynx. While the game was previously available on the WNBA app, the league later cleared that only the Indiana Fever vs. Dallas Wings game would be streamed.

But that did not stop Staley from watching Cardoso’s debut. She was seen watching the game on an Instagram livestream of a fan in the arena. A fan on X pointed out the absurdity of a coach having to watch her former player’s game unofficially.

“I didn’t mind watching with my peeps,” Staley replied to the post. “Let’s keep raising h e dbl hockey sticks to get changes made. In the meantime get it healthy @Kamillascsilva”

Livestreams on X and other social platforms reportedly drew big numbers including two million viewers from one.

Dawn Staley supports her graduating seniors

Coach Staley attended the graduation ceremony of her Class of 2024 seniors on Saturday. It included Sakima Walker and graduate senior Kierra Fletcher, who played her fifth year of eligibility last season.

“WINNING!! This is the day that brings the biggest smiles. Congrats to our very own @kierrafletch3 on her big day! @GamecockWBB,” Staley tweeted.

Staley maintains close relationships with her players. A fifth-year transfer from Georgia Tech, Fletcher described her first meeting with the Gamecocks coach in 2021. A Yellow Jackets player then, she had gone up to Staley after USC defeated her team in the Sweet 16.

“When I’m around someone or have the opportunity to meet someone that I look up to that much, I just really get extremely nervous,” Fletcher said, via The Observer. “I went up to Coach and I was like, ‘I just want to let you know I’m your biggest fan and like, I love you’ … I just thought it was really cool, and my coach took a picture of us and stuff.”

Coach Staley has an uphill task for the next season. She and the Gamecocks will look to repeat this year’s successful run with an even more stacked roster.