"It seemed exhausting, but it wasn't": South Carolina's Dawn Staley on her busy off-season filled with red carpet appearances and trip to White House

Before she gripped the Gamecocks' practice this week, Dawn Staley had been around the globe during the summer. The championship coach was part of the Olympics selection panel, went to Paris to cheer for US athletes, met Barack Obama through her support for the Democratic Party, was honored at the ESPYs and a lot more.

When Staley was asked about her offseason ventures, she shared that despite the tiring schedule, she enjoyed every bit of the journey. Nevertheless, realizing the nearing of the college games, she also shared that her focus is now fully on basketball and the Gamecocks.

"I mean, it seemed exhausting, but it wasn't," Staley said. When you're enjoying something, it's not tiring. I just kind of decompressed, that's my way of decompressing. And I experienced a lot this offseason, enjoyed it, compartmentalized, enjoyed myself.

"We're back, we're back into the swing of things. This really is my happy place, to be in practice and getting our team to where it needs to be, to where we can continue to make our fans happy and proud," she added.

One of the biggest outings for Dawn Staley was to the White House earlier this month. Her Gamecocks were invited to the Oval Office following their dominating 2023-24 season. Despite bringing three titles to South Carolina since 2017, it was Staley's first victory march to the White House.

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Dawn Staley's takes to X to complete Gamecocks' 2024-25 schedule

While fans enjoyed the appearances of Dawn Staley throughout the summer, sticking to the schedule meant that the coach was absent for a lot of the Gamecocks’ bonding sessions. It also meant less attention towards finalizing the fixtures for the 2024-25 season.

So, when Staley looked to finalize Gamecocks schedule for the coming season, she had to resort to X. The coach was looking for a home and home series with a high caliber roster.

One reason behind Staley' approach can be the extended demands of the offseason from the championship coach. However, in her tweet, Staley claimed that she had several "funny and outlandish" conversations about the possible matchups, hinting that she didn't like the options she had at hand.

As a result, coaches and staff members from plenty of recognized and small institutions responded to Staley's request.