WASHINGTON — The South Carolina women’s basketball team has won three national championships under coach Dawn Staley, but Tuesday marked its first celebratory trip to the White House.

Five months after beating Iowa in the title game, Staley and the Gamecocks came to Washington on Tuesday to be feted by President Joe Biden, who praised the coach’s leadership and spoke glowingly about the grit they showed en route to a perfect 38-0 record.

“You had to replace five starters due to the WNBA draft and graduation. There were doubts all over about contending for the title this year,” Biden said. “But for the record, and this is God’s truth: I picked you to win. I won a lot of money − no, that’s a joke.”

Biden entered and exited the East Room accompanied by Staley, who recently attended the 2024 Paris Olympics as a member of the United States’ official presidential delegation, which was led by First Lady Jill Biden. The president said he knows why South Carolina has become a women’s basketball powerhouse, and it’s because “you’ve got a girl from Philly running this team.” (The First Lady also grew up in the Philadelphia area.)

Biden then turned the microphone over to Staley, who said the moment “is not lost on me.” Staley declined to visit the White House after the Gamecocks won their first national championship in 2017, during the early stages of Donald Trump’s presidency. They also did not celebrate their 2022 title in Washington due to apparent scheduling issues.

Staley called Tuesday’s visit “a teachable moment for my team” and referenced a 2015 decision to remove the confederate flag – “a symbol that represented division and exclusion” – from outside South Carolina’s state capitol.

“That moment wasn’t just about a symbol being removed. It was about people coming together, uniting for a shared vision of progress, justice and equality,” Staley said. “Today, my staff, my team and I stand here embodying diversity, inclusiveness and unity. My hope is that this moment lands on you, as my team, as a powerful reminder of the beauty that can come from unifying for a common goal and doing things the right way.”

After a round of applause, Biden returned to the microphone.

“All those of you who hold public office in South Carolina: You better hope she keeps coaching and doesn’t run,” he said to laughter.

The Gamecocks will open their season Nov. 4.

The two-time defending champion Connecticut men’s basketball team is also scheduled to celebrate at the White House later Tuesday.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

A South Carolina man is battling for his life in a hospital after he was bitten by an inland taipan — the most venomous snake in the world — in his home on Friday.

According to Reptile Magazine, the man, who was known for posting videos with the exotic venomous snakes in his collection, was free handling the snake when it bit him. The site said he posted a video handling the snake earlier in the day and claiming he could control its movement.

“I can control his turn,” he said in the video. “There’s no need to be so scared of him.”

WBTW identified the man as Jeffrey Leibowitz, and said that a search of his property later turned up 14 snakes and a pet cat. Among the venomous snakes taken from his home, the site said, was a green mamba, two gaboon vipers, a fer-de-lace, a death adder, an eastern diamondback rattlesnake, two other adult rattlesnakes of unknown species, to black forest cobras, two neotropical rattlesnakes, a small rattlesnake (species unknown) and the taipan.

Jeff Camper, a biologist and snake specialist at Francis Marion University, told the site the snake has a “very, very dangerous, potent venom,” and that one bite could “kill up to 100 people.”

WBTW said antivenom was flown in from Florida to help treat Leibowitz.

“His body is probably going to want to shut down relatively soon,” Camper told the site. “My understanding is that he’s on a respirator, and that’s what’s needed for the patient to be able to continue breathing, as his diaphragm is likely paralyzed.

“He may have long-lasting or permanent damage to various organs.”

“Taipan envenomations are incredibly dangerous and just about the worst thing to be bitten by,” University of Queensland Australia Associate Professor Bryan Fry wrote on Facebook. “That is because taipans are specialists upon very dangerous prey animals such as long-haired rats. Mammals quite capable of severely injuring or even killing a snake predator. So they have evolved strategies to absolutely nuke their very dangerous prey. Giving it no chance of retaliating.”

WBTW said that none of the zoos or reptile areas nearby would take the animals “due to unknown health and environmental concerns such as their living conditions and potential illnesses.” It said a family member signed a voluntary surrender form, giving the snakes over to Florence police for euthanasia.

Kentucky Football is about to get the Netflix treatment — and unfortunately, Saturday’s embarrassing loss to South Carolina is part of it.

Sources tell KSR’s Matt Jones that the SEC signed a deal with Netflix for a docuseries about SEC football and Kentucky is one of several teams featured. In May, word first broke about the series, which will be similar to Drive to Survive about Formula 1 and Full Swing about the PGA Tour. According to Jones, it will be released in 2025.

The first game the crews were in town for? The 31-6 loss to the Gamecocks. Netflix crews embedded with the Cats all week leading up to Saturday’s game and were in the locker room before and after to capture the scene. I can’t wait to relive that one.

The crew will be with Kentucky for at least one more game. Hopefully, it goes better than Saturday. To quote Aaron Harrison, maybe it will end up being a great story.