COLUMBIA — After South Carolina women’s basketball lost to Iowa in the Final Four on March 31, 2023, it was evident things were going to change.

Coach Dawn Staley lost her starting lineup, including star center Aliyah Boston, and would enter the 2023-24 season with just one senior.

Staley decided to hire former player Markeshia Grant to focus solely on team building.

“I think sometimes when you are on the court, there are some intense moments and sometimes you say and do things you wouldn’t off the court so if we can jointly work through some team building and life skills while trying to form some chemistry on the court, I think it works hand in hand,” Staley told The Greenville News.

Suddenly, teammates who just met, could share life stories of one another before the regular season began.

Markeshia Grant’s work with South Carolina women’s basketball

Grant played for Staley from 2010-12 and found her way back to the program as a graduate assistant from 2015-17. Staley hired her as an independent contractor as the team building coach, a style of work Grant’s been specializing in for the past four years with her business Savvy Skills, LLC. Savvy Skills helps “students transform the way that they think about life and sports through progressive forward thinking and transformational action.”

When Staley began her annual summer camp in July, players as usual helped out as staff members. Staley knew she had a goofy group and saw that humor, laughter and joy were three common characteristics of this new team.

Grant noticed the vibe during Staley’s summer camp, too, so she crafted a specific team building plan catered to the Gamecocks’ style. Each session was dedicated time that allowed Grant’s work to focus on who the Gamecocks are off the court.

It began with the first exercise when Grant asked ice-breaker questions and was pleasantly surprised that the players answered them in depth and without issue. What normally takes Grant numerous sessions to succeed, occurred instantly.

“Oh yeah, this team is different,” Grant remembers thinking.

Painting was another highly successful activity which brought out creativity within the players, allowing them to find things out about one another that they didn’t know before. While painting, Grant would start conversations about their time in high school, their families and other personal questions. Soon after, the players could answer personal questions about one another.

“That tells me they pay attention to each other, to detail, they’re intentional,” said Grant.

Building relationships with South Carolina women’s basketball

Grant’s job is team building, but she is in constant communication with the team’s mental performance coach Dr. Raylene Ross. Although the activities only happened roughly once a month, Grant was always at practice, always around the team.

“(I was) intentional about them being familiar with me, it’s not just a one time thing, it’s not a transactional relationship,” Grant said. “You really have to build relationships with players in order for them to connect with you. I was intentional about being visible and accessible.”

None of the South Carolina coaches were around for the team building sessions, leaving the investment in Grant’s hands entirely. From the jump, Staley thought it was the perfect fit.

“It makes them a little bit more vulnerable to each other and they know whatever happens on the court is happening out of a place of love and hopefully when they are doing their team bonding, it’s a deeper level of understanding that,” said Staley.

For Tessa Johnson, a freshman last season, Grant’s work was some of her earliest experiences within the program.

“Coming in as a freshman, it’s a little scary, I am leaving my family and I’m coming into a whole new chapter of my life,” Johnson said. “I’m really big with relationships so (team building activities) helped me a lot off the court, and it really helped me on the court because I was able to trust my teammates and build a relationship with each person individually.”

NEXT SEASON: South Carolina women’s basketball looks loaded again in 2024-25 roster under Dawn Staley

Grant’s three pillars of a successful program are good character, culture and chemistry and this new job was a perfect opportunity to bring her skills back to the school she played for.

Another victory for Staley in an undefeated season.

“For us to win a national championship on top of that, makes it seem like it was genius,” Staley said.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

After seeing the offense break out in the first round against the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide on Tuesday afternoon, Mark Kingston and the South Carolina Gamecocks will look to carry over their newfound momentum into the second round of the SEC Baseball Tournament when they take on the No. 2 seed Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday afternoon. Both teams met in Columbia in the regular season, with the Hogs taking the series two games to one.

Looking back at that series, the Gamecocks had a really good chance to win, but a solid outing from the SEC Pitcher of the Year Hagen Smith and a late-game three collapse from Carolina’s bullpen (a game where Cole Messina wasn’t behind the plate due to it being part of a doubleheader) costed them dearly. This time, Carolina can truly play with a one-game-at-a-time mentality, and if you believe in having warm legs being an advantage due to playing a game on Tuesday, they’ll have that in their favor as well.

The most pivotal story for Kingston’s team coming out of Tuesday is that because Chris Veach pitched a season-high five and two-thirds innings against the Crimson Tide, guys like Ty Good, Connor McCreery, Eli Jones and Garrett Gainey were able to save their arms for another day. If the Gamecocks can keep an Arkansas batting lineup that had the third-fewest hits in SEC play off-balance, they’ll give themselves a shot to get into the winners’ bracket on Thursday.

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Gov. Henry McMaster declared May 19-25, 2024, as South Carolina Travel and Tourism Week, celebrating the industry’s role in boosting the state’s economy, workforce, and quality of life.

Quick SC growth + ranking stats

• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, SC was the fastest-growing state in the nation in December 2023.
• Greenville and Charleston were ranked in the top 15, (with Greenville being in the top five) as being some of the Best Places to Live in the US in 2024-2025, according to US News and World Report.
• Columbia was ranked No. 5 on Southern Living’s “The South’s Best Cities On The Rise 2024″ list + Spartanburg took the No. 3 spot.
• In 2023, Columbia, Greenville, and Charleston received the No. 1, 2, and 3 rankings in Travel + Leisure’s “9 Best Places to Live in SC, According to Real Estate Experts” article.
• Fort Mill received the No. 13 ranking on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 15 fastest-growing US cities list, seeing a population increase of 8.8% from July 2022 to July 2023. The Columbia metro area also experienced growth in 2023, with a 1.2% increase.

Tourism impact on SC

• 1 in 10 South Carolinians work in hospitality, supporting over 200,000 jobs.
• The annual economic impact of tourism exceeds $29 billion.
• Tourism-related tax collections reduce each resident’s annual tax burden by nearly $1,000.

“Visitors are continuing to choose SC,” Gov. McMaster said. “They plan their trips to relax on our beaches, dine in our world-class restaurants, stroll our safe city streets, and appreciate our unparalleled beauty. Our sincere hospitality is what keeps them coming back.”

Tourism impact on our area

According to the latest tourism data provided by Experience Columbia, 15.8 million visitors helped generate $130 million in state + local taxes, which led to a $2.6 billion economic impact, and 22,300 jobs created.