Dawn Staley shows true colors with warning for UConn’s Sarah Strong

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 18: Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks watches from the sideline during the second quarter of an NCAA women’s basketball game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Colonial Life Arena on January 18, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. The South Carolina Gamecocks won 101-60. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)© Getty Images

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley wants people to include Joyce Edwards in the WBCA Freshman of the Year award conversation alongside Connecticut’s Sarah Strong.

Strong, the No. 1 ranked player in her 2024 recruiting class, is the overwhelming favorite to win the award. The Huskies freshman is already one of the best players in women’s college basketball.

So far this season, the UConn star is shooting 37.3 percent when it comes to three-pointers this season and is also leading the country in win shares, a stat which gives individuals credit for their team’s success, with 5.4.

The WBCA honor, which was claimed by USC’s Juju Watkins last season, has been won by the likes of Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, and Caitlin Clark in the past.

But while Strong looks to be a certainty for the freshman award, Staley has reminded everyone of South Carolina’s own freshman phenom, Edwards. Speaking to WACH FOX News, the Gamecocks coach said: “It’s not a one-woman race for National Freshman of the Year. So I’ve got to put a narrative out there that Joyce is doing some incredible things.

“We have a tendency to just focus on one [player], right? What [Joyce] has been able to do, with the type of schedule that we had, it’s not easy. It’s not easy. So I just don’t want people to forget what Joyce is doing over here, because we’re not just going to allow awards to be given out with no consideration from our players here.”

Staley added: “So I’ve just got to throw that out there now, because I don’t want people to think it’s a shoo-in. You gotta look at the players on our team, and what they’re doing in our game, for our game.”

WNBA star and former South Carolina player A’ja Wilson is another individual who has recently lauded Edwards. “Joyce, her IQ is something that’s going to take her far,” Wilson said.

“I think she is already becoming a pro at a young age of a freshman, and obviously she’s going to have her ups and downs … but the patience and IQ that she plays with is crazy. It’s insane. I wish I had that patience as a freshman … to have that patience and that IQ right now and understanding how to read the defense and how you’re being played, that is what you don’t learn, probably until you’re in the pros.”