Dawn Staley says a clause in her new contract means nothing about how long she’ll be at South Carolina.

Following Sunday’s win over Oklahoma, Staley addressed a section of her extension that she signed to end last week. The deal, which made her the highest-paid coach in the history of women’s basketball at approximately just over $25 million over five years, included a portion where she’d owe them nothing if she were to immediately leave for another job in the NBA or WNBA. When asked about it postgame yesterday, Staley had a little fun with the question.

“I don’t know. I might up and leave,” Staley joked.

In seriousness, Staley explained that everything within the contract, like that clause, was just part of the negotiation for both her and for South Carolina.

“Nah, I mean, you got to have something. It’s a give and take, you know,” said Staley. “Like, like, if, you know, there was – it was important for me to have a guaranteed contract. It’s important, you know. But, in having a guaranteed contract, you got to give them something, you know.”

Still, while she could leave Columbia at any time now because of it, Staley has no interest in doing so. She stated that she’d never leave their program for another college team. She also said, if she had wanted to go to the pros, she would have done so long before now.

“I will never leave here to go take another college job. It’s nothing. Like, I have the best of the best here,” Staley said. “And I really don’t have, um, any – like, I don’t have a passion for the next level. I don’t. I would’ve been gone. Like, seriously, like.”

Staley is in the middle of her 17th season with the Gamecocks with her having posted a winning percentage of .771, including a current record of 18-1. That resumé includes 630 total wins, sixteen conference titles, and a dozen straight berths in the NCAA Tournament with five appearances in the Final Four and three national titles.

With that, Staley is one of the best coaches, regardless of level and men’s or women’s, in basketball. She’ll keep coaching at South Carolina from here on, though, despite that wording in her extension.

“So, to have it in there was – it was just something fancy to have you ask me that question,” again laughed Staley.

South Carolina basketball is five games into its 2024-2025 SEC schedule. The Gamecocks are 10-8 and 0-5 in conference play coming off of a 20-point loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.

The upcoming week represents a massive (and, perhaps, the last) opportunity for Lamont Paris’ team to save their season. As is life in the SEC, Carolina will welcome two NCAA Tournament-bound teams to Colonial Life Arena. First up is a date with the Florida Gators.

[Win tickets: South Carolina-Florida MBB]

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Resume Check: Florida Gators

Record: 16-2 (3-2 in SEC)
AP Ranking: No. 5
Last Week: Loss to Missouri 82-83 in Gainesville; Win over Texas 84-60 in Gainesville
Previous Meeting: South Carolina won 82-76 in Columbia during 2023-2024 season

Florida has been ranked in the AP top 25 all season for a reason. Todd Golden’s team is really good and could challenge for one of the top seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

The Gators went 13-0 during their non-conference schedule, including a win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte. Though they have two losses in conference play, they’ve come by a combined seven points. UF also knocked off the then-No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers in dominant fashion, 73-43.

Heading into this week, Florida is 4th in the SEC in scoring (85.9 points per game). They also are 3rd in the league in scoring defense (65.6 points per game). The Gators are the best rebounding team in the SEC and tie for the top rebounding margin in America. They do send opposing teams to the free throw line at a high rate, something that plays into the Gamecocks’ strong ability to get to the charity stripe.

Florida boasts four double-digit scorers as all three perimeter starters (Walter Clayton, Jr., Alijah Martin, and Will Richard) and big man Alex Condon each average at least 10.8 points per contest. Clayton and Martin lead the way at 17.9 and 16.2, respectively. Clayton ranks second in the conference in 3-pointers made, as well.

Both of Florida’s starting post players (Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu) sit in the SEC’s top 10 in rebounding as they each pull down better than seven rebounds a night. However, the Gators are a balanced rebounding group with six different players averaging at least 4.5 boards per game.

Coming into the game against South Carolina, the Florida Gators are pretty healthy. Thanks to a broken leg suffered last season, 7’1″ post player Micah Handlogten is redshirting this year (along with 7’9″ center Olivier Rioux). Other than those expected absences, UF hasn’t dealt with many players missing games. Coach Golden didn’t include any Gators on his SEC-mandated availability report last week.

The Gamecocks and Gators will tip off at 7:00 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday, January 22nd. SEC Network will broadcast the game, and the ESPN app will stream it.

President Joe Biden on Sunday marked the final full day of his presidency by visiting South Carolina, the state that propelled him in 2020 to the presidency.  

After a tour of the International African American Museum with his friend, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Biden thanked South Carolinians for their support and spoke on themes of faith and community, history and memory, sacrifice and service. 

“Let me close where I started — gratitude for all you’ve done for me,” Biden told an invitation-only crowd at the IAAM.  Then he went on to quote a passage from Psalm 37:25, saying, “‘I have been young and now am old. I have not seen the righteous forsaken.’ And after all these years working alongside you [in this state], I know that’s true.”

White House officials said the visit — on the eve of the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. —  reflected Biden’s commitment to the civil and equal rights movements. That the president chose South Carolina underscores his deep ties to the state, the place that “brought him to the dance,” as he likes to say. 

A swansong tour

Biden began his swansong in South Carolina at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, where he attended a worship service and addressed the congregation. The president spoke about a range of topics, from King’s legacy to the Israel-Hamas cease fire to the challenges facing the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, before taking his seat in the front pew alongside First Lady Jill Biden and Clyburn.  Trump is to be sworn in at noon Monday inside the U.S. Capitol after an outdoor ceremony was moved due to cold weather. 

After church, the Bidens toured the IAAM, located in downtown Charleston on Gadsden’s Wharf. The site once served as the single largest point of entry for enslaved people in the United States. 

After the tour, Biden prepared to address a small crowd of invited supporters and members of the press while a combined choir called Voices of Liberation performed gospel songs. 

IAAM President and CEO Tonya Matthews welcomed attendees. The Rev. Joseph Darby delivered an invocation. Dr. Jill Biden offered her own words of gratitude for the state of South Carolina. 

And then Clyburn enumerated the president’s extensive contributions to the state in the form of economic investment, saying “from interstates to infrastructure … [Biden] has benefited this state like nobody since Lyndon Johnson.” Clyburn also presented the president with a special commemorative award made of sweetgrass. 

Others joining the president during his Charleston visit were daughter Ashley Biden and son Hunter Biden.

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