after (and I believe only because) MSU shocked UCONN. And with 2 transfers into her program that ended up both being high first round WNBA picks. But otherwise she doesn't have a lot to show for all the talent she rakes in. And she regularly gets blown out (at least it seems that way to me) by UCONN and other top programs

I see two main points being raised about Coach Dawn Staley:
- she does not win enough, particularly with what she has recently; and,
- she currently has an unfair advantage in recruiting due to being the U.S. National Team Coach.

On one hand, I get this: South Carolina does seem to get its fanny kicked on a regular basis by UConn; and, yes, they just pulled in one of the best recruiting classes as rated by agencies in recent memory.

Would like to peel another layer of the onion. Maybe there's another perspective.

Dawn Staley Does Not Win Enough

- At Temple, her first head coaching gig, Staley went 172-80 overall (68% winning percentage) and landed her team in the NCAA's the last five years.

- At South Carolina,The Gamecocks had only won a total of 20 games in the five years before her arrival.
- It took her three years to start winning and since then, she's been in the NCAA's 9 straight years.
- From Jan. 2014 to Nov. 2018, South Carolina had an 89-week-long run in the Top Ten rankings. According to the NCAA, that's the longest run outside of UConn and Notre Dame. They must be playing -- and defeating -- enough top-level teams to stay so highly ranked.
- Under Staley the program captured four SEC regular season championships, four SEC tournament titles, two Final Fours, one NCAA National Championship, six sweet sixteen appearances, the 2nd ranked recruiting class in 2014, the first ranked class in 2019, five SEC player of the year awards and three SEC freshman of the year awards.

- As for their record against specific teams:
-- Yes, UConn regularly pummels them. This looks like a case of one coach just having it on another.
-- Staley and Holly Warlick were -- to the best that I could find -- around .500 (I have 5-5 in the last 10 games). For all of Warlick's faults, she still had better than average teams until the last, say, two years. These two teams are usually athletic and played accordingly.
-- Staley had Vic Schaefer's number, having a 9-1 advantage before this season.
-- The most notable ND-South Carolina game came in the Final Four in the prior final four in Tampa. That as a nail-biting 66-65 ND win, largely due to some late-game heroics by Maddie Cable (on offense) and Hannah Huffman (on defense). No blowout there.

Do they lose some games on national television that don't put them in the best light? Sure...particularly those UConn games. But I think they also win more than their share of the ones that matter.

Does Being Coach Staley Have A Recruiting Advantage...

...by being the U.S. National Team coach?

Hmmm, maybe.

- I'm guessing this is an extension of the Geno A. platform. He created a virtuous circle of being in prime players' careers from college to pros to international career. Did it create an advantage? Well, for kids drawn to winning and who envisioned a long career, probably.

- Dawn just got going as U.S. Coach and I'm not sure so many players equate her in the same vein. Heck most of the 2019 recruits heading to S. Carolina were coach by Carla Berube, who is a Geno A. disciple. See how that worked out?

- I think it's premature to see if this kind of wave continues year in, year out for Staley. I think it's a bit of an anomaly and think it will create challenges meshing incoming and current talent.

Will certainly watch what the future brings, but it could create the most recent bugaboo for her as a college coach: transfers due to lack of playing time. There's only 200 minutes in a hoops game, regardless of how good the starters and subs are.

- BTW, I happen to agree with those who think college coaches should not be the HC of the U.S. National Team: I think the U.S. National Team coach should come from the pro ranks: Cheryl Reeve would've been a fine choice this time around.

2015 - no ESPN top 100 recruits
2016 - #28 Ty Harris, #33 Araion Bradshaw, #72 Mikiah Harrigan
2017 - #23 Elisia Grisset, #43 Bianca Jackson, #48 LaDazhia Williams
2018 - #6 Destanni Henderson, #47 Victoria Saxton.

That's not horrible but for a program that made the Final Four in 2015 and won the NC in 2017, it's below par.

After Gray and Davis left, they just didn't have the talent to be contenders the last couple years. Last year was A'ja just trying to do it by herself. This year, they didn't even have that.

When they did have the talent to contend from 2015 to 2017, they made two Final Fours and won one NC. You could knock them for underachieving in 2016 but ND also took an early exit that year. It happens.

I don't think it's a coincidence - and an unfair advantage. One Geno enjoyed for years.

Bring in a coach from other ranks besides college

She's been pulling in solid recruiting classes since she got Kelsey Bone to commit in the class of 2009.