Dawn Staley’s demand from MiLaysia Fulwiley to avoid “flashy moves” referenced by reporter: “Is she gonna do what Staley needs from her”

MiLaysia Fulwiley is having a slow start to her sophomore season with the South Carolina Gamecocks. After her 23-point performance in mid-November, the guard has seen a decrease in performance. During South Carolina's game against Duke on Thursday, Fulwiley finished with three points.

During her interview on Good Game with Sarah Spain on Thursday, ESPN reporter Alexa Philipou spoke on MiLaysia Fulwiley's plays this season and agreed with coach Dawn Staley's assessment of the guard.

"I'm so curious to look at MiLaysia Fulwiley's trajectory this season," Philipou said. "I know a lot of people were surprised she didn't play much that UCLA game, she's gone back to kinda more normal minutes since then. But to me, she's the player on South Carolina that has the highest ceiling.

"So is she gonna continue to do what Dawn Staley needs from her to display that, to play with discipline, to play, you know, I think the word that I've heard Dawn use is almost play lean and be efficient and not go for maybe all the flashy moves and all the flashy plays. So I definitely have my eye on her and her trajectory for this game."

In South Carolina's 77-62 loss to the UCLA Bruins, Fulwiley played just three minutes and went scoreless. The guard was reportedly seen in tears on the sidelines, but coach Staley still has Fulwiley's back.

MiLaysia Fulwiley comments on big loss to UCLA

MiLaysia Fulwiley enjoyed an incredible season as a freshman. She averaged 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals as South Carolina won the national championship with an undefeated season run.

While the Gamecocks have retained most of their roster except center Kamilla Cardoso, they are still showing signs of struggle, which could hinder their regular season into the new year.

Commenting about the loss to the UCLA Bruins, Fulwiley said:

"I feel like our biggest takeaway is just probably to not let it happen again. That's a harsh feeling and we don't want to feel that way ever again."

"And as far as [last year's] freshman, we had never lost a game. So it wasn't a great feeling for us, and it was an unusual feeling. It's just something that we work hard for each and every day for it to never happen again," she continued.

Up next, South Carolina face the TCU Horned Frogs on Sunday, as part of the US LBM Coast to Coast Challenge.