Gamecocks 2022-23: Part One

[JDuro]

 

[JDuro]

 

[visitingcock]

Good for Riley. Glad she is gonna’ play for “ a Carolina.” I hope she matures and develops like her Dad did.

 

[eebmg]

Is that one of those campuses with a network of rivers and waterfalls flowing through it?

 

[JellyBean]

Another awesome commitment for Coach Staley and South Carolina. Riley is a solid player. Way to go, Coach Staley and South Carolina.

 

[WiseOne]

Another awesome commitment for Coach Staley and South Carolina. Riley is a solid player. Way to go, Coach Staley and South Carolina.

She’s committed to Coastal Carolina. That’s in South Carolina but it’s not “South Carolina “. Staley is not the coach for Coastal Carolina!

 

[SCGamecock]

Team USA U17 team wins the U17 World Cup. Beating Spain 84-62 in the final.
Gamecock target, Juju Watson, wins tournament MVP.
Another Gamecock target, Jaloni Cambridge, makes the all-tournament team.

Coaches Dawn Staley and Jolette Law were in attendance today for the final and yesterday for the semis.

Known SC targets on the U17 team are Madison Booker, Kennedy Ume, Juju Watson, and Jaloni Cambridge.

 

[ThatCG1801]

ESPN has really done it now. Continuously disrespecting us but this....they'll pay for this. You'd think they'd have learned by now not to piss off Dawn and FAMs. Aliyah was nominated for an ESPY but was the only one in her category NOT invited. Dawn is furious. They just WILL NOT quit literally low-key bullying Aliyah for lack of a better way to describe it. First with the nonstop photos and clips of 2021's FF but THIS is absolutely outrageous.

Dawn Staley calls out ESPN over ESPYS' Aliyah Boston exclusion

South Carolina's Dawn Staley has taken to Twitter to call out both ESPN and the ESPYS after not inviting Aliyah Boston to the award ceremony.

www.on3.com

 

[Mdoggie]

Team USA U17 team wins the U17 World Cup. Beating Spain 84-62 in the final.
Gamecock target, Juju Watson, wins tournament MVP.
Another Gamecock target, Jaloni Cambridge, makes the all-tournament team.

Coaches Dawn Staley and Jolette Law were in attendance today for the final and yesterday for the semis.

Known SC targets on the U17 team are Madison Booker, Kennedy Ume, Juju Watson, and Jaloni Cambridge.

Juju Watson must be Juju Watkins bazarro world alter ego. I mean come on SCG, get it together! Getting it wrong once could be a typo, but twice? @SCGamecock

 

[SCGamecock]

Juju Watson must be Juju Watkins bazarro world alter ego. I mean come on SCG, get it together! Getting it wrong once could be a typo, but twice? @SCGamecock

Relax.

 

[Mdoggie]

Relax.

Ok Dr Watson. Im sure Coach “Stanley” knows her name.

 

[ThatCG1801]

Relax.

Now I have Frankie Goes to Hollywood stuck in my head from reading one simple word. LOL.

 

[GamecockFam]

ESPN has really done it now. Continuously disrespecting us but this....they'll pay for this. You'd think they'd have learned by now not to piss off Dawn and FAMs. Aliyah was nominated for an ESPY but was the only one in her category NOT invited. Dawn is furious. They just WILL NOT quit literally low-key bullying Aliyah for lack of a better way to describe it. First with the nonstop photos and clips of 2021's FF but THIS is absolutely outrageous.

Dawn Staley calls out ESPN over ESPYS' Aliyah Boston exclusion

South Carolina's Dawn Staley has taken to Twitter to call out both ESPN and the ESPYS after not inviting Aliyah Boston to the award ceremony.

www.on3.com

How sad. And this is the year they are celebrating 50 years of title IX. Does anyone know if all the men from the male equivalent award were invited?

 

[Carnac]

I'm afraid I must agree here.......

 

[GCKSFN4L]

What's the point of having an awards show if you're not going to invite all the nominees. All of them should be present win or lose. This should be reward for all these athletes for their efforts and could be a great networking opportunity as well.

 

[FormerCTrez]

ESPN has really done it now. Continuously disrespecting us but this....they'll pay for this. You'd think they'd have learned by now not to piss off Dawn and FAMs. Aliyah was nominated for an ESPY but was the only one in her category NOT invited. Dawn is furious. They just WILL NOT quit literally low-key bullying Aliyah for lack of a better way to describe it. First with the nonstop photos and clips of 2021's FF but THIS is absolutely outrageous.

Dawn Staley calls out ESPN over ESPYS' Aliyah Boston exclusion

South Carolina's Dawn Staley has taken to Twitter to call out both ESPN and the ESPYS after not inviting Aliyah Boston to the award ceremony.

www.on3.com

I agree with Dawn Staley on this topic!!!

 

[GamecockFam]

So The State did some digging and found that the format is changed this year. The men's/women's college athletes of the year are being announced before the live show, thus they didn't invite these nominees. I believe they are trying to minimize the number of attendees due to venue size and COVID concerns. That's why Boston wasn't invited. Only those nominated for a category that will be revealed on the live broadcast were invited.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

So The State did some digging and found that the format is changed this year. The men's/women's college athletes of the year are being announced before the live show, thus they didn't invite these nominees. I believe they are trying to minimize the number of attendees due to venue size and COVID concerns. That's why Boston wasn't invited. Only those nominated for a category that will be revealed on the live broadcast were invited.

I think it's a weak response by ESPN. Why is the same category that was broadcasted last year not being broadcasted this year. What's the point of being nominated if they can't find room for you to enjoy it in a venue that houses 7100 people. Also Covid as an excuse is getting old, if you were able to manage it last year, you would assume they should be better prepared for this year.

 

[seeya27]

I think it's a weak response by ESPN. Why is the same category that was broadcasted last year not being broadcasted this year. What's the point of being nominated if they can't find room for you to enjoy it in a venue that houses 7100 people. Also Covid as an excuse is getting old, if you were able to manage it last year, you would assume they should be better prepared for this year.

All Dawn needed to do was make a simple phone call to her contacts at ESPN and ask "why did this happen." It's what any mature business leader would do FIRST.

Discover the facts and then respond before shooting your mouth off, uninformed and assessing blame.

Whether you, Dawn or any of us agree with ESPN's reasoning, they in fact did have their reasons for taking the steps they did. It wasn't a conspiracy or SC bias or directed at Boston in any way. They were consistent, across all sports and genders, in how they allocated the invites.

My guess is Dawn knew exactly what she was doing. It is totally on-brand for her to create an "us against the world" narrative. In Dawn's world, SC it seems is always the victim.

But maybe she didn't know the facts. If that's the case, her behavior is just "leader malpractice" -- whining publicly without ANY knowledge of the facts or what was going on. Any reasonably intelligent observer would acknowledge this is nothing remotely close to an issue that should cause "national outrage."

National outrages are school children being massacred or people of color being regularly killed for traffic violations. Not being invited to some relatively meaningless awards event is hardly outrage material.

What any reasonable leader would do is simply pick up the phone and see if the issue can be addressed amicably, quickly and smoothly.

Her fans say "she speaks her mind to improve the game." My opinion: she's only out to build her brand; to hell with the sport. Again, my opinion based on her behaviors.

Moral of the story: find out the facts first.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

All Dawn needed to do was make a simple phone call to her contacts at ESPN and ask "why did this happen." It's what any mature business leader would do FIRST.

Discover the facts and then respond before shooting your mouth off, uninformed and assessing blame.

Whether you, Dawn or any of us agree with ESPN's reasoning, they in fact did have their reasons for taking the steps they did. It wasn't a conspiracy or SC bias or directed at Boston in any way. They were consistent, across all sports and genders, in how they allocated the invites.

My guess is Dawn knew exactly what she was doing. It is totally on-brand for her to create an "us against the world" narrative. In Dawn's world, SC it seems is always the victim.

But maybe she didn't know the facts. If that's the case, her behavior is just "leader malpractice" -- whining publicly without ANY knowledge of the facts or what was going on. Any reasonably intelligent observer would acknowledge this is nothing remotely close to an issue that should cause "national outrage."

National outrages are school children being massacred or people of color being regularly killed for traffic violations. Not being invited to some relatively meaningless awards event is hardly outrage material.

What any reasonable leader would do is simply pick up the phone and see if the issue can be addressed amicably, quickly and smoothly.

Her fans say "she speaks her mind to improve the game." My opinion: she's only out to build her brand; to hell with the sport. Again, my opinion based on her behaviors.

Moral of the story: find out the facts first.

I don't get this, as WBB fans we should all be outraged. Our sport is rarely in limelight and its always great to have represented in some capacity at such a big event.
But again I have yet to see any facts that have explained why in a venue that seats 3400, the same as last year, as to why there isn't enough space for all individual nominees to come to the event? Who care if she wins the award or if its even presented, the fact of the matter is there hasn't been a reasonable explanation for why she wasn't invited yet.

You may not like her but Dawn comes out and defends all players not just her own if she feels they are slighted or underappreciated. Perhaps you should take your own advice and get the facts first. You also don't know what Dawn knew and or what her motives were. Making baseless attacks on her makes you no better than what you accuse her of.

 

[seeya27]

I don't get this, as WBB fans we should all be outraged. Our sport is rarely in limelight and its always great to have represented in some capacity at such a big event.
But again I have yet to see any facts that have explained why in a venue that seats 3400, the same as last year, as to why there isn't enough space for all individual nominees to come to the event? Who care if she wins the award or if its even presented, the fact of the matter is there hasn't been a reasonable explanation for why she wasn't invited yet.

You may not like her but Dawn comes out and defends all players not just her own if she feels they are slighted or underappreciated. Perhaps you should take your own advice and get the facts first. You also don't know what Dawn knew and or what her motives were. Making baseless attacks on her makes you no better than what you accuse her of.

I presented both sides. "If she knew" and "if she didn't know" and gave my opinions about both. But if she knew, she had an obligation to acknowledge she spoke with ESPN and disagreed with their reasoning. At the very least, ESPN would have explained this was not singling out women's basketball, women's sports, SC or Boston. Who they invited was based on specific criteria with no bias.

Now, you may not agree with ESPN's reasoning, but it wasn't a conspiracy. Dawn could have put a stop to that in a Tweet. She clearly chose not to and allowed the firestorm amongst her following to continue. At the very least, be honest about the situation. Dawn could have still supported her player.

IF you find out she never checked the facts first, does that change your perceptions?

I would also disagree with the comment that wbb is "rarely in the limelight." It may not get the broadcast awareness that you or I want, but wbb is the most covered women's college sport. ESPN has virtually devoted a network to it during the NCAAT. Should there be more...yes. But "rarely" is not accurate. Ask the folks involved in softball, women's tennis/golf/gynastics/crew/field hockey/etc.

And to be 100% honest, I find the ESPY's to be clownish at times. The larger awards given by the NCAA matter more to me (yes, that is just me). If no UConn player ever gets an invite to an ESPY again, I could care less. It's a meaningless awards show.

Last: this was a "national outrage"? Please, get a grip Dawn. It was nothing close.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

I presented both sides. "If she knew" and "if she didn't know" and gave my opinions about both. But if she knew, she had an obligation to acknowledge she spoke with ESPN and disagreed with their reasoning. At the very least, ESPN would have explained this was not singling out women's basketball, women's sports, SC or Boston. Who they invited was based on specific criteria with no bias.

Now, you may not agree with ESPN's reasoning, but it wasn't a conspiracy. Dawn could have put a stop to that in a Tweet. She clearly chose not to and allowed the firestorm amongst her following to continue. At the very least, be honest about the situation. Dawn could have still supported her player.

IF you find out she never checked the facts first, does that change your perceptions?

I would also disagree with the comment that wbb is "rarely in the limelight." It may not get the broadcast awareness that you or I want, but wbb is the most covered women's college sport. ESPN has virtually devoted a network to it during the NCAAT. Should there be more...yes. But "rarely" is not accurate. Ask the folks involved in softball, women's tennis/golf/gynastics/crew/field hockey/etc.

And to be 100% honest, I find the ESPY's to be clownish at times. The larger awards given by the NCAA matter more to me (yes, that is just me). If no UConn player ever gets an invite to an ESPY again, I could care less. It's a meaningless awards show.

Last: this was a "national outrage"? Please, get a grip Dawn. It was nothing close.

Yes Women's Basketball like women's sports in general are rarely seen in the limelight. Any positive attention to get more casual sports audiences that are mostly Football fans and NBA fans to take notice of women's sports the better. I agree on Women's Basketball being on the the top of the pyramid of Women's sports when it comes to coverage but it still is pales in comparison drastically to the men.

As for Dawn, rather she knew or not it doesn't change my opinion and I don't see anything wrong with calling people out for what you deem as injustice.

I still stand by their excuses being weak. Covid has been an issue for years, if they could make it work last year why is this year so much harder especially when there are reports of them asking for seat fillers to fill out the venue. If the venue only held 500 or less people I would completely understand making cuts but if their going to use these players names and likeness as the basis for this awards show, the least they could do is invite them.

You might not care and that's fine but it's heartbreaking that someone as sweet and hardworking as Boston is seemingly consistently slighted as it relates to ESPN despite her amazing season. Her pain and crying is worthy enough to be used constantly as a marketing tool
for commercials and such but a single evening to be surrounded by other top athletes is to much ask. So I don't fault anyone for being upset about the situation, especially when recent precedent has shown that they were able to make time for female college athletes before and even invite multiple of them to the show.

 

[seeya27]

The problem with Dawn's media narrative is she KNOWS what it is doing to her base. Literally every Tweet invokes the name of a UConn player (Paige, Rebecca Lobo, Azzi) negatively and accuses ESPN of bias and conspiracy. I think keeping that alive is a media strategy for her.

None of that is remotely true, of course. It's entirely how ESPN structured the show. They didn't ignore sweet, hardworking Boston because of her sport, race, or gender. They didn't extend an invitation to EVERYONE who is not getting an award that night. Men, women, major sports, and lessor sports all were skipped over.

If she disagrees with ESPN's decision, fine. If she sees that as an injustice, fine. But it's not a bias or conspiracy, and be professional enough and be professional to acknowledge that.

But again, I believe Staley lives to position SC as always the victim that everyone is against.

I've said my piece and am done with this conversation. As a marketer and media relations specialist, Dawn's approach is blatantly obvious to me.

 

[seeya27]

Just for the record: Boston has hardly been "slighted by ESPN."

She was a short clip on one ad. The player from AZ was also shown crying on that ad, but nobody ever mentions that.

Other than that, she has had multiple glowing video features on ESPN -- including a 7 minute Holly Rowe interview at her island home. There have been more than a handful of ESPN The Magazine features and pieces about her.

The ESPN Gameday was virtually all about her and Staley. The ESPN website did endless stories on how she was the POY during and at the end of the season.

It was one ad -- and showing athletes in the "agony of defeat" is common. It isn't/wasn't just a Boston thing. Overall, they have given her exemplary coverage since.

 

[triaddukefan]

Some ruffled feathers in the land down under.