The South Carolina Gamecocks are a tightly knit program, mainly due to the influence and leadership of Dawn Staley, who is focused on building a culture at South Carolina.

Staley, along with her Gamecocks players and staff, came together and celebrated coach Lisa Boyer’s birthday on Monday. They enjoyed some pizza and then went out for a walk, as Boyer enjoys her late-night walks.

Staley posted an image on her Instagram sharing the moment with fans.

“Celebrated Gamecocks’ own Coach Boyer’s birthday with make your own pizza. Boyer is notoriously known for her after dinner walks, so we walk! Happy birthday again Boyer!” Staley captioned her post.

Dawn Staley has reformed the South Carolina program, and even last season, they reached the championship game, eventually falling short to UConn. She will be eager to bring the trophy back to South Carolina in the upcoming season.

South Carolina basketball: Lisa Boyer praised as top coach | The State

Dawn Staley acknowledges her former players following their strong performances in the WNBA

Dawn Staley is one of the most influential figures in college basketball right now. She is known for her affectionate nature even with her former players.

One such example was seen on Monday when Staley praised her former players, Allisha Gray and Te-Hina Paoao, as they put on a show on Father’s Day, guiding the Atlantic Dream to an 89-56 triumph over the Washington Mystics.

Shout out to @GamecockWBB own @Graytness_15 @tehinapaopaoo showing out with career high in points for their daddies on Father’s Day! Com going to have to save this post bc I know it’s going to happen again! 🥰🥰🥰

It was a dominant display from the Atlanta Dream over the Mystics as Paopao registered 16 points, one rebound and five assists, whereas Gray was sensational with a 32-point masterclass along with five rebounds and four assists.

Staley has been with the Gamecocks since 2008, guiding the program to three national championships. She has coached some of the best players who are now featuring in the WNBA.

Atrayo Bhattacharya is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over seven years of experience in the field. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has worked for Khel Now, Sportz Interactive, Sports Rush and Newsbytes.

Atrayo follows Football, Cricket, NBA, Tennis, F1 and World Athletics and is a big fan of Bayern Munich and the Boston Celtics. He also supports the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

On the college scene, the Duke Blue Devils are Atrayo’s favorite college team. They have an incredible legacy in the NCAA and Atrayo’s favorite player, Jayson Tatum, came out of Duke.

Atrayo has interviewed quite a few international footballers like Roman Weidenfeller, Lothar Matthaus, Jens Lehmann, and Sarpreet Singh other than interviewing several personalities from the Indian Football Ecosystem.

When he is not watching or writing sports, Atrayo is either playing games or binge-watching a new TV series.