Dawn Staley makes her feelings known on Te-Hina Paopao's rise after making the Wooden Award Top 25 watch list

Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao is one of the players to be named on the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 25 Watch List. The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the list on Tuesday, which included JuJu Watkins, Kiki Iriafen, Paige Bueckers and Flau'jae Johnson.

Dawn Staley reacted to the guard's selection in the honor roll as the Gamecocks prepared to host Texas A&M on Thursday. The coach highlighted the factors that make Te-Hina Paopao one of the best players in the nation.

"She's comfortable and there is nothing like comfort. She knows the shots that we're setting her up for, she has met us halfway with the ability to defend, I'm really impressed with her defense and then her ability to adjust," Staley said.

"She is not shooting it as efficiently as last year and a lot of that is coz she is countering that. I'm hoping the counters will loosen her up to have a little bit more open shots outside the three, but she's a pro. She's a pro, pro habits puts her in a position to where she can just comfortably play her style of play and adjust when needed."

Te-Hina Paopao leads Dawn Staley's dynamic playbook with 11.6 points per game this season. Her stats have improved against ranked teams, where she averages 14.0 points on 55.7% shooting alongside 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals. She is also the Gamecocks' best 3-point shooter with 42.6% efficiency across 68 attempts in 15 contests.

Dawn Staley previews the roster changes in Ashlyn Watkins' absence

Forward Ashlyn Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL injury against Mississippi State on Sunday, forcing South Carolina to play without its best defensive player.

Dawn Staley intends to coach the roster accordingly in practice. However, she highlighted the Gamecocks could resort to a small-ball lineup.

"It's the next woman up and if that next woman up isn't ready right now, we'll continue to get it right here in practices to expedite that and in games, we might need to try something different, might need to play small-ball."

The Gamecocks are entering the toughest slate of matchups this season. They are up for five back-to-back ranked contests after Thursday's game against the Aggies.