NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - SOUTH FLORIDA VS SOUTH CAROLINA

March 18, 2023

Dawn Staley

Brea Beal

Aliyah Boston

Colonial Life Arena

South Carolina Gamecocks

Media Conference

DAWN STALEY: We're excited to advance and play a pretty gritty South Florida team. I hope we play some great basketball. At least one last time for two of the seven players that could possibly be leaving our program.

Q. I'm sure you've seen some film of south Florida. Does Dulcy remind you of some of the things you do with her relentlessness and the way she takes on two or three defenders and be able to score?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Yeah, definitely. I think she's a great post player, very physical. I also like the physicality of the game. She rebounds the ball pretty well and she's pretty good around the basket. So yeah, she does.

Q. Just looking back to the Norfolk State game, what are a few small points of emphasis on your mind going into this next one that you want to improve on team wide?

BREA BEAL: I think just a general statement, going into a tournament, we can't play with teams especially in the first half of a game because in the second half those teams could be good and those types of situations, so we definitely want to focus on playing our best team basketball and making sure we can put these teams away early.

Q. Has it hit you yet that tomorrow no matter what happens, could be the last time you're going to play at the CLA?

BREA BEAL: Yeah, definitely there's been some moments where I thought about how I have to clean my locker out after Sunday's game. It definitely hits me as more of an emotional time this year.

ALIYAH BOSTON: I definitely agree. I was going to say the same thing about the locker. She pointed it out and I was like, oohh, that's true, so yeah.

Q. Bree Hall had a three as soon as she was subbed into the last two games. Speak to her impact off the bench and her ability to stay ready and help in that way.

ALIYAH BOSTON: Breezy in practice has been very consistent, ready when her name is called and I think she's been playing great basketball, playing at her pace, doing exactly what we needed her to do. I think she's just been honestly doing everything that we needed her. She's hitting big shots at the perfect time.

BREA BEAL: I think the same as well. It just shows definitely throughout practice and throughout time, last year and this year, she's learned a lot from the upperclassmen, especially guard play. She comes in, she's patient. She's willing to ask questions and listen to what we have to tell her. So just to see her come in and score easily within the offense or her teammates trusting her to knock down those shots is good to see.

Q. I know the answer could take up the rest of the press conference time but how essential was it for you to come and play for Dawn and the things you've learned and the relationship you've had over the years inasmuch as you see a person like you achieving things like that, how important was that for you in coming here?

BREA BEAL: It could be a deep answer but just to keep it short, I feel like coming here, I knew I could trust her, I could trust the staff. You know, the people that were telling me what this community was about, I know it's somewhere I wanted to be. As soon as I got here, she definitely, you know, led me down a journey so I could find out who I am and what position makes me the best.

So I think it really was a trust factor and you know, you don't necessarily know what you're getting into, so I kind of just jumped right in, and she led me the right way?

Q. We talk a lot about the culture at South Carolina. What's been most important thing that's led to success for this team and for teams in the past?

ALIYAH BOSTON: Thinking about our culture, I think discipline is the biggest thing, just being disciplined to what you know you have to do, doing the right thing and just staying the course. Because there can be a lot of things that happen in life but staying and keeping our circle the main thing I think has been the biggest thing.

BREA BEAL: I definitely agree with that. You're stepping from the outside world into here, our little bubble, just giving everything you have while we're on the court and while we're practicing, things like that, probably are some of the biggest things, biggest factors for us?

Q. Could you speak to Johnson, impact she's had on this team as well as her growth this season, seven assists last night, what she brings to the floor for y'all, and especially coming off the bench?

BREA BEAL: For us behind the scenes, she's always bubbly and brings great positive energy, no matter the day or what is going on in her private life. We definitely cherish that. Just to see her growth especially when there's been times when Kie wasn't play due to injury and her stepping up, whether she's nervous or not, showing she's a great point guard whether she's young or not. Just to see her growth, it was an amazing thing to see.

ALIYAH BOSTON: She's a great spark off the bench. She pushes pace and does a great job running our team. Her vision on the court is something that just a blessing to have for this program. But she's just that spark on the bench that runs the team really well.

Q. Going back to getting Kierra out of the transfer portal, what were the conversations like from you to her; that you need a point guard or it would be a great fit? What was that like when you first approached her and got her to come here?

DAWN STALEY: When she went into the portal, we knew we were losing Henny. Well, we didn't know at the time but Henny decided to take her chance ongoing to the draft. Then we just explained to Kierra what our situation was; that we needed an experienced guard with the team we were bringing back.

I didn't tell her she would start. I just said, you and Raven would compete for the position, but there's definitely some playing time. What you do with it is on you, but I'll be fair about it. I won't just put Raven in the starting lineup. You have an opportunity to compete for it but your experience is the main thing that we need.

I did ask her if she could help guide Raven because she's such a young point guard hasn't played but one, a few plays in her second college season in her freshman here, and when she came on a visit, she actually came during, I think it was postseason. It was postseason.

So she visited, officially visited during the postseason during the first and second round, and I think she saw the way we prepped and then she was here for a game, so she saw the crowd. I don't think she took too many visits, if she took maybe -- I don't even know if she took another visit. You might have to find that out. I like when they make a decision or they know what they want and they make a decision and they don't -- they don't mess around with it. Either way, if they came or if they decided not to come.

Q. What have you seen out of Dulcy's game down low and does she have some similarities to Aliyah's game?

DAWN STALEY: I mean, she post-up so strong. She's very, very active on both side of the basketball. She's unafraid. She wants the ball and she does a really good job at scoring, like she's very efficient when her two feet are in the paint. She runs the floor extremely well. And there are a lot of similarities in their game because they will command a lot of attention.

I don't think we'll double or triple team her. I think we'll just play her straight up and if she forces us to double her, she's working us over.

Q. There was a nice moment after yesterday's game where the Norfolk State players asked you to come and see them. Wondering what you said as far as encouragement and that kind of stuff. Diana said you did the same thing last year; do you remember how early in the morning it was and how long you stayed with them?

DAWN STALEY: When we were going -- just after the game, we were going down the line, you know, just greeting each other. One of the players asked me if I wouldn't mind taking a picture with her and I was like, sure.

Then I actually forgot about it. I'm just sitting in the -- I'm actually sitting in the men's locker room and somebody knocked on the door, and then you know, they said, "Your coach said she would take a picture."

Then when I opened the door, it was like, 20 of 'em. I was like, come in, come in. And they were taking pictures. They were talking. And then the young lady, number 50, I can't think of her name -- Kiarra. I mean, she worked us over. I had to let her know that she did a great job at just going doing what you need to do against taller opponents.

And I just told her, I could remember the time when we had six foot post players and we had to do the exact same thing and we found some success in it. I just wanted her to know that I saw her, like doing what she needed to do and it was real promising, especially with her only being a sophomore, like it was -- I mean, she took her time, she got incredible rebounds over Kamilla, over Aliyah, she just did what she needed to do to make an impact. I didn't know I was being filmed or anything. I just thought I would share that with a younger player.

And last year, we were in the tunnel when they were coming off the court and I just told them, good game, good game, good game, and then I ended up speaking to one of the players that wanted to take pictures and somehow I met the coach and they were like, they are going to take some pictures at the A'ja Wilson statue that morning because they didn't leave until the afternoon. I just said, I'll met you over there and we took pictures. I don't know how early it was, eight or nine o'clock. I don't think it was like six in the morning or anything like that.

So yeah, we took pictures. I think we were out there a good half an hour.

Q. Question on Craig Oates and the relationship you have with your trainer and how he's helped the team?

DAWN STALEY: That's really a hard position to hire because you don't know. But when you've worked at UVA -- I was in that training room a lot, I got that trophy for the player that was deemed the training room award. I know the great work that UVA athletic trainers do. I know who they trust to make sure that athletes psyche and mental and physical health are top notch.

We kind of stole him from UVA and we presented an opportunity to work with our team and he's been great. He's probably more softer than I like, in that he takes such great care of them. Almost to the point where it's time to let him go and get back on out there. That's why I can't -- I don't touch when players are injured because pain is personal. But he does a great job at making sure they are not putting themselves in harm's way, if they are ill or hurt, he gets them right.

The most important thing is he and Molly Binetti have a tremendous relationship. Like, that's our strength and conditioning coach; they work extremely well together. They are probably the secret sauce behind our success.

Q. Tomorrow's game is on ABC and the Championship game coming up; can you imagine how far this game has come when you were in high school being quoted by all these programs to come play college basketball?

DAWN STALEY: If you take me back that far, I didn't know exactly where the game was. Playing on television was probably the biggest thing growing up.

But just as far as coaching, this is my 23rd year coaching and yeah, sometimes you just have your head down and you're just trying to do what you need to do in your space. And then you grow in this game and you find out there are certain things that aren't happening. Like there are still firsts in our game.

Like the first time we played on ABC this year, right, or was it last year? This year? We played on ABC last year? So it's the second time. Like, why? I should be very happy but I mean, we've had -- for us to be on year two that we are playing on ABC.

Obviously the numbers are good enough for us to repeat, and it shows that we deserve to be in this space on ABC but it also shows that this probably should have happened a long time ago because you don't just overnight get those numbers. Somebody's watching women's basketball. Somebody feels like we're in high demand, and obviously the decision-makers that put us on, now realize that they got to keep putting us on.

Q. You know, also, I remember when you first came here, we'd ask you questions about, well, is UCONN -- is what Tennessee is doing; that good for the game, is it -- now you're the ones on top. You caught them, those programs and you're the ones on top. Is having a team last week yours undefeated, looking for a perfect season, is that good for the game or is parity, you know, do you see parity behind you?

DAWN STALEY: Is it good for the game? (Pausing).

I don't want to shake things up, but -- but did we get the coverage that other undefeated teams got? Is that good for the game? I mean, we're still sitting here where we sit and we're not the highlight of this tournament. We're the highlight because we carved a space to be that because we're undefeated but we're not the one -- we're not -- my player, Aliyah Boston is the one that's being talked about on men's game, okay; she's not. And is that good for the game?

I think there's room to talk about the very best players in our game. Not a one-off, not talk about this player because we want her name out there or that player, and it wasn't Aliyah last year, either.

So for me, what's good for the game is to call the game like you see it. Don't create narratives. Don't create things that are advantageous to players that will get the most clicks. Our game is incredible. We've got incredible players. We've got incredible coaches. We've got incredible fans and following. Like, call it like you see it. Don't create narratives that will give certain players the edge or certain programs the edge, because there's room for all of us to be in this space and we can lift up our entire game, not just this little pocket of people.

And let's not talk about people. Let's not -- let's not talk about players like people talked about what Aliyah had last year. Don't talk about that.

Talk about what is good for our game; what is good. There's so many things that are great for our game that we, you know, we create this, and then there's dissension on social media, and is that good? Yeah, it's good conversations for fan bases to talk about.

But in essence, we're still breaking down who we are and we're still trying to become a sport. Like a sport that people recognize as a sport. I know that's part of it but I mean, there's too many great things and great players that we need to keep uplifting.

Q. We're talking about down here.

DAWN STALEY: I know. Not our local media. I know what you all do and I really appreciate that. I think if somebody would want to do a documentary on what you do for our program and the way you've lifted our program, I think we can model that and we can stick it in different cities where there's women's basketball, not even heavily followed. It will be a start for our game to continue to rise to the levels that will get us those units. We still want those units.

Q. The culture you've built here, does it impress you when you look at a South Florida program that has five international starters and has that self belief to get that win yesterday?

DAWN STALEY: Yeah, it's cool to watch them. We had an opportunity to see them here again, because we saw them last year and see how far they have come and they already were a really good program. But you could see their culture. You could see their connectivity. You could see how well they play together, and you don't win a game like you won yesterday without having that, because they were down the entire game. But yet, you never saw frustration. You just saw them just keep grinding it out.

And again, that's another great story about our game. It was a great game between Marquette and South Florida. I hope it's not a great game tomorrow, sear are seriously, my nerves can't take it (laughter).

Q. Sticking with that point, South Florida has gone international. How much does that help grow the sport?

DAWN STALEY: I think once you have an in in recruiting internationally, it's another option that you know you're going to get some great players that probably you don't have to compete for with 50 other schools. I do think Jose does a great job. I think somebody on his staff -- or he's over there probably a couple months out of the summer just trying to find some hidden talent, and he's built this program on it, and I think it's a great option.

There are great players here in the States, but we had a player that we are recruiting, 30 schools. You go overseas, they have maybe two or three, five at the most. I think it's a viable option for programs that are committed to it. If you can ask Coach if he can increase our recruiting budget, I find myself in Europe somewhere.

Q. Diane said that you've called Laeticia the most versatile player you've ever coached. Can you describe that a little bit about what she brings and she's also had some tough personal issues to deal with and how she got through that.

DAWN STALEY: Yeah, that's versatility, as well, to be able to combat injuries. She came in with an injury. She came in early. She graduated early from high school to come in, have her surgery and we helped her rehab that.

Then once she's able to play, she was probably not even 50 percent of who she would become in her first or second year, and then once she got a little bit more comfortable -- I didn't shy away from playing her.

I probably should have played her more her freshman year because I knew what type of player she would be. She's super unselfish and can play multiple positions on both side of the basketball, one through five. She can play one through five. She can play one through I've on -- she can play the point for us. She's done that. She can play the two, three, four, five, and do it well, not like there's a drop-off no matter what position that she play.

And I've never coached anybody that comes with that much determination. Like she really didn't care. Put her anywhere.

I often just -- you know, wondered what she would have been like as a starter, as a four-year starter, and I don't like that she hasn't started in her career. But she never gave us any issues with it. She all trusted that this was the best decision for her and the team.

And I'll say this: I think I said it yesterday that she of all the players that will make that transition to the league, she'll probably transition the best because probably not any of them besides Aliyah has a legitimate chance of starting for a franchise, unless they have some injuries, which we don't want them to have.

But she'll play her natural position off the bench and will be a bang off the bench for a WNBA team without having to think, oh, when will I get in or when will I start. They will have some transition when they decide to go and be the 11-player coming off the bench. That's going to be hard. Lae's been through it all: She's started; she's come off the bench; first one off the bench; third one off the bench. So she's more prepared to handle it.

Q. Could you speak to the bench squad of Kamilla, Raven and Laeticia, and what they as a group bring off the bench for you and the impact they have?

DAWN STALEY: They are just, you know, one, quality human beings. Two, super, super, super competitive. Like you don't make an impact when you come into the game without making an impact in practice.

Like they practice they are starters, and I think we treat them like they are starters because they get pretty much the same amount of reps, and then when we don't have the highlighters, which is our male practice team, when we have to go against each other, it's not very often that they don't win versus the starters. They just play with a different type of energy.

You know, if we played an entire game, I think the starters would edge them out but if we're just playing ten possessions, more times than not, they get after it.

Q. I asked Aliyah and Brea about the culture and what's opinion important. How much do you charge or credit to the players as far as leading and creating culture there?

DAWN STALEY: I mean, every year we get some new players coming into our program, and the culture that was established, I would say before the 2019 class came in, was pretty good. We probably dipped a little right before they came in, and then when they came in, they started anew.

Like they started with only wanting to win. They only wanted to make Ty and Kiki proud. That's all they wanted to do. They didn't want to shake anything up. They really didn't know how to shake things up but they came in with a certain following and with a lot of publicity and they just wanted to be freshmen. They just wanted to be understudies to what was already here, and they took on that role and they have taken our program to another level from a cultural standpoint, because I've never seen a group of players approach practice like they approach practice.

Ty and Kiki used to come into practice when they were older, wanting to see the practice card. Like when is practice over? What do we have to do? Is it a hard day?

Not one of the freshies ever wanted to look at the practice card, and to this day. I would say this; that practices have been a lot shorter over the past four years or five years than they have ever been in my entire coaching career. Only because they are lean. There's no fat to what they are doing. They only want to do things that are beneficial to them. So they don't practice bad basketball, and that's a great quality.

Q. I wanted to ask you real quick, too, about a memory. I was watching a game earlier today. They showed a picture with you, Michael Jordan, Cory Alexander, Stackhouse, Juwan, you guys were playing a pick-up game in Greensboro. What are your memories from then?

DAWN STALEY: I really just remember playing with MJ. Yeah, he took all the shots (laughter) I know Cory Alexander but the only vivid memory I have is being on the court with MJ. He's the biggest trash talker that you have ever met before, but he backed it up.