“That’s a shame”: When Dawn Staley explained how Sabrina Ionescu’s brilliance made South Carolina a 'victim'

Dawn Staley has always been vocal about equal representation for her team and others in the media. In an interview with Taylor Rooks in March 2023, the South Carolina coach spoke about the erasure of the efforts of her team's 2019-20 roster due to COVID-19 and pre-existing narratives in the media, particularly surrounding Sabrina Ionescu.

The former Oregon guard was the most-talked-about player of the 2019-20 season and was predicted to lead the Ducks on a championship run. While the media focused on Ionescu and her team, the Gamecocks were lost in the conversation around the championship and more.

"I mean, we were a victim in 2020, being the number-one team in the country for the last nine weeks before COVID hit," Staley said. "And you wouldn't know that we were the number one team because they kept with the narrative with Sabrina (Ionescu), which is fine, great great player.

"There'll never be another Sabrina, but because of Sabrina, and I don't mean that like dog pound on her name. You'll never know about the 2020 -- our the number one team in the country when COVID hit. ... And that's a shame, because there was room for Sabrina, there was room for Ty (Tyasha) Harris and Kiki (Mikiah) Herbert Harrigan." (7:37)

Dawn Staley added that these players, part of the 2019 No. 1 recruiting class, had the potential to win a national championship. However, the lockdowns ended their title dreams. She also shared that she discussed the erasure of her team's efforts with decision-makers, who said the story would have been told as part of the NCAA Tournament.

However, after these conversations, South Carolina received an hour-long special coverage titled, "For the Culture", released in May 2020.

"It was awesome," Staley said. "Selfishly, it was great, but there were other stories that did not get told. That's a lost season for everyone and I just think that there's enough room for everybody." (9:10)

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Dawn Staley's South Carolina records first loss of the 2024-25 season

After a five-game winning start to the season, and a 43-game winning streak, South Carolina suffered their first loss on Sunday against the UCLA Bruins. The 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts led the Bruins in their 77-62 victory, who took the No. 1 spot in the ESPN Women's Basketball Power Rankings from the center-less Gamecocks, who are now at No. 4.

After the loss, Dawn Staley spoke to the press, praising the Bruins:

“This is what we usually do to teams. It doesn’t feel good when you’re on the receiving end of it. But you also know you got beat by a great team. That was beautiful basketball by UCLA, beautiful on both sides. It was fluid on both sides of the ball.”

Dawn Staley and South Carolina will now look to bounce back as they take on Iowa State on Friday at home.

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