"When I see people twerking, I get a little twitch in my hip": When Dawn Staley left A'ja Wilson in splits talking about Howard cheerleaders

Dawn Staley is not only a coach who is one of the best in college basketball, but she is also a coach who knows how to have fun. This was certainly the case according to a story she told Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson.

Staley had Wilson on in an episode of the "NETLIFE with Dawn Staley" podcast uploaded to YouTube in March 2022. Topics they discussed at the time involved advice on South Carolina's tournament run and what she looks forward to seeing in the WNBA.

There was one event during the 2022 NCAA Tournament, specifically the First Four matchup between Howard and Incarnate Word, that caught Staley's attention enough to talk about her reaction to it. What she said left Wilson in tears of laughter.

"When we did watch that First Four game in Colonial Life Arena, my eyes immediately went to the cheerleaders in the band from Howard. Um, like, seriously, they, they made me, they were twerking.

"And, you know, when I see people twerking, you know, I gotta, you know, I get a little twitch in my hip, and I want to, you know, I want to get down. But they really make you think you can do it. That's how good they are," Staley said.

Dawn Staley had praise for South Carolina freshman player

Dawn Staley is usually high with praise for players on her team. But how Maddy McDaniel has been performing for the Gamecocks has caught the coach's attention more than normal.

"She's reliable, she doesn't turn the ball over a whole lot. She handles the ball well, she knows what we need, how we want to execute on both sides of the basket, she can score, she's delivering for us time and time again. Just solid," Staley said.

"She's really a luxury. As a coach, you look down the bench and see her and want to play her more. But we got to get Raven (Johnson) going, we have to get Paopao going, we got to get all these players going and you know when you call her to go in, she's going to be solid.

"She's made me feel that way. So, sometimes you just let the other guards do their thing because you know she's going to be solid. But because of that, she sometimes loses out on some minutes."

McDaniel is averaging 5.3 points, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 rebounds per game on 64% shooting from the field. Her efficient shooting has benefitted South Carolina's offense, having provided 17 points combined against Purdue on Nov. 30 and Duke on Dec. 5.

With No. 3 South Carolina being 8-1 so far this season, Dawn Staley looks to have them improve to 9-1 when they play No. 9 TCU at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. ET.