South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has a knack for dropping great comedic one-liners.
She was at it again Friday, after the No. 1 Gamecocks earned an ugly 79-68 over Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.
South Carolina is now 30-0 on the season, but did not look good against the Aggies. Staley drew a funny analogy in an interview that aired on the SEC Network.
“Luckily, we found a way to win the game,” Staley said. “I think Oprah was passing out turnovers on our team. ‘You get a turnover, you get a turnover, you get a turnover.’ I mean, we can never take our foot off the gas.”
Oprah Winfrey, of course, was legendary for handing out gifts on her show, everything from houses and cars to trips and scholarships. Staley’s team was in a giving mood Friday night toward the Aggies, losing a season-high 24 turnovers.
Obviously, another performance like that and the dream of a perfect season could be gone. Staley sent a strong message to her team.
“It will get their attention. It’s not like it was a 30-point blowout where we’re smelling ourselves,” Staley said. “We’re smelling ourselves. And it doesn’t smell good.”
"I think Oprah was passing out turnovers on our team…It's not like it was a 30-point blowout where we're smelling ourselves. We're smelling ourselves. And it doesn't smell good."
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley on the No. 1 Gamecocks' tough win over Texas A&M. pic.twitter.com/WUYgrqeRNi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 9, 2024
Staley really does have a gift for comedy in her post-game interviews. Just last month, when the Gamecocks played on the road at LSU, a reporter told Staley the crowd “wasn’t very friendly to you.”
“Actually they were. They were calling me boo,” Staley quipped.
“Obviously a crazy crowd. I know they weren’t very friendly to you.”
“Actually they were. They were calling me ‘boo.’” — Dawn Staley after the win at LSU
🎥 @sportingnews pic.twitter.com/UAyY1GhFsW
— The Athletic WBB (@TheAthleticWBB) January 26, 2024
Staley followed up that big win over LSU by calling The Paul Finebaum Show to respond to a heckling fan. That fan, “Dwayne in New Orleans,” had guaranteed an LSU win.
“Hey Paul, tell Dwayne I said hi; I think his name was Dwayne,” Staley joked.
“Wow. Dawn Staley calling out Dwayne from New Orleans,” Finebaum added. “Talked a big game, went to the game, he called us on his way, and he just got smacked down by the best in the business.”
Poor Dwayne in New Orleans guaranteed an LSU victory, and now he's getting called out by @dawnstaley on the @finebaum show. pic.twitter.com/3my0oPuIFg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 27, 2024
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