NCAA Basketball: SEC Basketball Tipoff – Source: Imagn

In a recent interview, South Carolina Gamecocks’s head coach Dawn Staley was left frustrated by a reporter’s line of questioning involving Ashlyn Watkins. Earlier this week, South Carolina dismissed the suspension of their talented forward after charges of alledged assault and kidnapping were dropped.

Dawn Staley left frustrated by a reporter’s line of questioning about Ashlyn Watkins

A reporter was pushy when it came to his line of questioning about the 21-year-old. The interview in full can be seen below.

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Staley made an initial statement to address the media on Ashley Watkins’s current status.

“I’m going to make this statement about Ashlyn. We welcome her back. We are going to let her get acclimated to being back on the team and we look forward to having our entire team back in the fold.”

When quizzed about what’s it like having Watkins back ahead of South Carolina’s highly anticipated game against NC State, coach Staley had the following response.

“Yeah. I mean we’re at our very best when we got our full roster, especially healthy. So I mean it feels good. Like it feels natural, it doesn’t feel unnatural to us. It feels like we’re complete now.”

Staley followed that answer by starting that Watkins looks great.

However, the reporter soon followed it up with a bizarre question, “What is your definition of acclimation?”

“Haven’t been here. Now she’s here. Now she’s got to get acclimated to being here during 12:30 to 3:30. Her schedule is probably a little bit off. So just getting back to her normal routine.”

The reporter followed it up with another question about Watkins’ availability on Sunday.

“If she is out here, she is going to play.”

The reporter pressed on for another question but was soon interrupted by the South Carolina head coach, who was left frustrated with his series of questions.

“Where you from?” Staley asked.

NCAA Basketball: SEC Basketball Tipoff – Source: Imagn

Watkins played an important role for South Carolina last season. The gifted forward was a decent contributor for the Gamecocks at both ends of the floor as she averaged 9.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.4 blocks per game in the 2023-24 NCAA season. Watkins made 55% of her shot attempts.