From the start of the season, South Carolina is proving why the team is ranked No. 1. With their latest 77-45 win over rival Clemson this Wednesday, the Gamecocks set a new school record with their 43rd consecutive victory. Thanks to two standout players—Te-Hina Paopao, who scored 13 points, and Ashlyn Watkins, who contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds—the team cruised to another dominant win. Despite Watkins’ solid performance, she still has a way to go as per her head coach.

In a post-game press conference, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley addressed concerns about Ashlyn Watkins’ performance. “She missed two months, and you know our bigs have progressed. They’ve worked really hard. So Ash has her work cut out for her… Aja Wilson came off the bench her freshman year and still got every award that she’s supposed to get.” Staley explained. For Staley, Watkins’ return to the court after missing significant time remains a key challenge.

Watkins had no choice but to step away earlier in the season due to legal battles on the charges of as-ault and kid-napping. Following her arrest, she was suspended from women’s college basketball and was unable to join her teammates at the White House when the team was honored by President Biden. However, on November 1st, all charges against her were dismissed.

Currently, she’s averaging 5.7 points and 4 rebounds per game and that has come with some steady growth. While she scored 6 points in 19 minutes in her first game back, her most recent performance saw her tally 10 points and 11 rebounds across 20 minutes.

This kind of rise after a setback isn’t new to Dawn Staley, who had a similar experience coaching three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson during her freshman season.

For Wilson, it took a period of benching to transform her into the player she is today.

Back in 2014, during her freshman year, Staley was unimpressed with Wilson’s initial performance. “Her first game, she played terribly. I didn’t feel like she was ready,” Staley shared, recalling Wilson’s struggles, including a 2-for-7 shooting night and three turnovers.

That’s when Staley devised a solution: bringing Wilson off the bench to “allow” her to see the game from a different perspective and relieve some of the pressure. “Probably take some pressure off you,” Staley told Wilson. Unexpectedly, Wilson embraced the move. For her, it was “something special” as she felt the head coach trusted her.

Wilson’s status as the No. 1 recruit coming off the bench certainly raised eyebrows, but she silenced critics with her on-court brilliance. Months later, Wilson was named SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. This marked just the beginning for her. By the time Wilson concluded her collegiate career, she had led the Gamecocks to their first national championship in 2017 and had become South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer. Her excellence continues to inspire, both on and off the court.

It’s this legacy that Staley wants Ashlyn Watkins to draw from, pushing herself to excel despite the setbacks, especially as her teammates have surged ahead of her.