Dawn Staley says leading topic in recruitment is financial

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley says the conversations surrounding recruitment, especially with players in the transfer portal, have changed over the past few years.

In past conversations with recruits and potential transfers, the three-time NCAA national championship coach said she would lead with the pursuit of receiving a degree, but now it’s all about the financial aspect.

“How much is it going to cost us? That’s the conversation. You’ve got to lead with that,” Staley said. “Because you don’t really want to waste your time. You either are going to have enough to pay players, or you don’t. And you move on.”

Staley said that no matter what she promises a student-athlete, the bottom line will always be finances.

“Because although you can promise a young person this or that, if your budget says otherwise — I don’t like to promise anything that isn’t available to us,” Staley said. “I don’t want to have to go out and get the money because you could be told no and then your back is against the wall.

“So have you to lead — I won’t say I lead with that question, but I get to it fairly quickly. After the pleasantries are done, you have to get to the question so you’re not wasting your time and spinning your wheels on somebody that you can’t afford.”

Despite that shift, Staley said her program and staff are still dedicated to making sure all her players receive their degrees. For Staley, her players graduating with a degree from South Carolina isn’t a “conversation, but it’s a plan.”

“We always have a plan no matter how many credits you come in with, a plan to get you out on time,” Staley said. “Anytime [the athletes] come on a visit, you get the transcript and then we send the transcript off to our admissions and all that, and they give us what they need. And that’s part of the conversation. But all of our kids graduate, all of them but one in my career.”

The Gamecocks’ roster has three transfers: senior guard Ta’Niya Latson, senior center Madina Okot and senior forward Maryam Dauda. Latson led South Carolina with 28 points in her first Sweet 16 appearance to lift the Gamecocks to a 94-68 win over No. 4 seed Oklahoma on Saturday.

Laston, who played the first three years of her career at Florida State before transferring to South Carolina this season, shot 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, 7-of-11 from the floor and a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line as the Gamecocks advanced to their sixth straight Elite Eight.

Staley’s program has also reached six of the past eight Final Fours and won three national championships during that stretch. On Monday night, the Gamecocks will face No. 3 TCU and star guard Olivia Miles in the Elite Eight.