“Pretty easy when it’s that clear-cut”: South Carolina HC Dawn Staley sternly sets priorities for South Carolina players

Dawn Staley prepared one of the toughest opening schedules for her South Carolina Gamecocks this season. Across its first eight games, USC has played only two home games and faced three ranked programs.

In the past two weeks, the third-ranked Gamecocks visited the Clemson Tigers and the then-No. 5 UCLA Bruins on a back-to-back road trip before playing two of its four neutral site games against the then-No. 15 Iowa State Cyclones and Purdue Boilermakers.

When asked about her team's conditioning before hosting the No. 8 Duke Blue Devils on Thursday, Staley said on Wednesday that her players are prepared for the challenge. She said that the schedule aims to create a balance between basketball and academics, making it easy for the players to focus.

"It's just basketball, nothing better to be doing during this time," Staley said (Timestamp: 1:05). "There's nothing like that. There shouldn't be anything competing for their time but books. So, it's pretty easy when it's that clear-cut. There's books and basketball, 'cause our schedule lends itself to only to be able to concentrate on that."

Moreover, Dawn Staley said that her team understands the severity of competitiveness that the Blue Devils will bring to the Colonial Life Arena.

The Gamecocks will get back on the road after Thursday's game to face the eighth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs at the Dickies Arena (in Fort Worth, Texas) on Sunday. USC then returns home for a three-game stretch to host South Florida, Charleston Southern and the Wofford Terriers.

Dawn Staley believes discipline to be the key factor against Duke

Highlighting Duke's movement on the court and tendency to create ample 3-point opportunities, the championship coach wants her roster to harmonize offense and defense.

Dawn Staley wants the Gamecocks to practice discipline throughout the matchup, which she believes will give them enough opportunities to outscore the Blue Devils.

"They can put some points on the scoreboard, so we got to defend," Staley said (Timestamp: 2:16). "And then, for us, we got to score, man. I think, for us, we have to be disciplined. I think they like to get up and down the floor, they shoot a lot of 3s.

"We have to be disciplined and taking good shots, because when we take good shots, it affords us to rebound the basketball and it affords us to get back in transition D to make sure that we're guarding their shooters and their rim runners."

Since Dawn Staley gripped South Carolina's reins in 2008, she has faced the Blue Devils seven times. Her Gamecocks lead the matchup 6-1, with Duke's only win coming through a home game in the 2016-17 season.