What to watch for as SEC Network airs documentary on Staley, USC’s historic season
For South Carolina women’s basketball, the 2019-20 season will likely remain one of the most exciting, memorable and ultimately frustrating in program history.
Coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks rose to the top of the sport with No. 1 ranking in both major polls. They swept through the SEC regular season and conference tournament in undefeated fashion. They bested powerhouse UConn for the first time, along with other top-10 programs in Baylor, Maryland and Mississippi State.
But their shot at NCAA tournament glory never came because of the coronavirus pandemic. Just days before USC was set to be unveiled as the tourney’s No. 1 overall seed for the first time ever, the whole thing had to be canceled.
Now, a month after the Final Four was scheduled to take place in New Orleans, the SEC Network is set to air a behind-the-scenes documentary on it all. “For The Culture,” debuting Monday at 9 p.m., “will introduce the team and provide a glimpse into how their leadership, talent and chemistry came together for a magical season that was left unfinished by the COVID-19 pandemic,” ESPN announced in a press release.
In addition to interviews with Staley and starters Tyasha Harris, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke, the documentary will also feature analysts Debbie Antonelli, Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, LaChina Robinson and Holly Rowe talking about the run the Gamecocks went on to reach 33-1, the nation’s best record.
Speaking with The State, Antonelli said she was contacted by the SEC Network in the last month to provide her thoughts on the season. With stay-at-home orders and social distancing protocols in place, she did her interview over Zoom. It’s a project, she said, that’s been a long time coming.
“I think Dawn has deserved her own documentary for a long time, let alone this season,” Antonelli said. “Before the reconstruction of the conferences, Dawn is arguably the best player to ever play in the history of the ACC. ... But this particular season, I think it speaks to how good this team was, and how disappointing the ending was for everyone, that we didn’t get to see it play out, see what could have happened.”
Heading into the NCAA tournament, the Gamecocks were unanimously expected to be the No. 1 overall seed. Many observers and fans expected them to meet No. 2 Oregon, led by national player of the year Sabrina Ionescu, in the national championship.
With the tourney’s cancellation, debate about who would have won have such a title game has raged. Staley has been vocal in her belief that South Carolina should be recognized as the national champion as the No. 1 team at season’s end, and she’s argued that Oregon would not have been able to break the Gamecocks’ vaunted defense, which ranked in the top 10 nationally in efficiency and a host of other statistical categories.
How much that will be addressed in the documentary isn’t clear. But in Antonelli’s mind, the impact of never getting to see such a matchup play out on the court is enough to leave a lingering historical mark on the season.
“I definitely think there’s always gonna be a ‘what if.’ I don’t think it’s an asterisk, I think it’s beyond an asterisk. I don’t know what what you would call it, but you know, you look at baseball, and there’s guys before steroids and after steroids, there’s an asterisk. That’s not what we’re talking about. To me, sometimes an asterisk could be an exception, or a negative, but with this group, it’s not an asterisk, it’s some other symbol that the fans and college basketball, what we could have seen,” Antonelli said.
Still, what if or not, when asked if she thought this year’s squad was the best Staley has had since coming to South Carolina, Antonelli had no hesitation.
“Yes, I do. I definitely do. And that’s a lot considering the (2017 championship) team with A’ja Wilson, who’s the greatest player in the history of the program,” Antonelli said.
“(Staley) could play a lot of different styles and a lot of different paces. And you know, I look at 94 and 50 (feet, the dimensions of a basketball court). Right? So, can you play 94 feet? Yes. South Carolina could do that offensive and defensively. When the game slows down, can you play 50, side to side? And they had enough talent and enough skill, enough shooters, enough low post game, they had everything to play side to side. So I think this was her best team.”
What set this squad apart, Antonelli said, was its depth of talent and maturity. Antonelli recalled visiting a practice in October, before the season started, and coming away impressed by how well the freshmen, ranked No. 1 as a recruiting class in 2019, met expectations and played unselfishly. How that chemistry developed so rapidly on a squad with three freshman starters and two seniors will likely be another key point in the documentary.
In that regard, Antonelli compared the Gamecocks to Staley’s other job as head coach of the U.S. National Team.
“They prepared like a professional team and worked. I mean, what a blessing for Dawn considering what she had to be dealing with all year with coaching both teams. Even though she wasn’t physically there, she still was involved every day with USA Basketball, I’m sure, in some capacity on some issue or something,” Antonelli said. “So those kids, it’s not like dealing with professionals part of the day and dealing with a bunch of amateurs the other part of the day. I think she dealt with pros the whole time, just because of the way that the South Carolina team managed their business.”
“For The Culture” debut at 9 p.m. Monday on the SEC Network, followed by a re-airing of South Carolina’s victory over Mississippi State in the 2020 SEC tournament championship game.
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 6:33 AM with the headline "What to watch for as SEC Network airs documentary on Staley, USC’s historic season."
