Hamilton: South Carolina's Dawn Staley is a master of juggling Xs and Os, feelings and egos

GREENVILLE Dawn Staley: championship coach, championship player, three-time Olympic gold medalist.

And, coming soon, published author.

Heres hoping her upcoming book features a chapter on young adult psychology.

Because her savvy in that field is the only explanation for her ability to keep South Carolinas ship flowing in one direction despite so many people wielding oars.

Thats the takeaway from the last two days of the SEC Tournament, AKA The Dawn Staley Invitational when its at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Staleys ability to manage a roster is the reason her squads are now 17-1 here.

Shes headed to this events title game for the third straight year after the Gamecocks (29-3) beat fifth-seeded Oklahoma 93-75 in the semifinals.

Nine different players scored for USC (five in double digits), and its bench outdid the Sooners 56-20.

Add in the quarterfinal win over Vanderbilt, and the Gamecocks reserves are whipping their counterparts 89-24.

Youve got to have some elite ballers to have that kind of teamwide production.

And, indeed, theres an abundance of talent all across the roster.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey said after losing to the Gamecocks in January that I dont think Ive ever coached against a team with 10 McDonalds All-Americans on the roster.

No, coach, probably not.

And then Kentuckys Kenny Brooks, following his teams loss to USC on March 2, described Staley as bringing in McDonalds All-Americans for McDonalds All-Americans, just seeing which one was going to play better.

Um, was that not allowed? Staley, rightfully, isnt apologizing for assembling that kind of talent.

She took to social media last week with a quick video of her humming McDonalds Im Lovin It jingle.

Add expert troller to her list of bona fides.

Besides, its a fixable problem for the haters just recruit better.

Not that recruiting at an otherworldly level is the be-all, end-all of college basketball, regardless.

Not by a long shot.

Just ask John Calipari.

His 15 seasons at Kentucky produced eight top-rated recruiting classes, including his first five years with the Wildcats.

Forty of his players were drafted by NBA teams, 35 of which were lottery picks and three No.

1 overall.

Yet, for all his skills at closing big-time recruits, his legacy with the Wildcats will be having one national championship.

It was all summed up perfectly in the 2014-15 Kentucky team.

Six of those Wildcats were NBA draft picks, four of which were lottery selections, including the top overall selection in Karl-Anthony Towns.

That team is remembered in Lexington, though mainly for an off night in Indianapolis against Wisconsin in the Final Four.

The optics and reality of 38-1 are far different for that team than the expectation of 40-0 .

And thats what this is all about.

Not necessarily perfection that horse left the barn during the first month of the season anyhow.

Still, the only acceptable standard for USC is to win championships of all sort.

Especially national championships.

Its not easy.

Considering shes won three, maybe her book will shed a little light on how shes done it.

Certainly Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother and Life Lessons I learned from All Three will provide some revelations.

Itll peel back curtains regarding how Staleys journey from the projects to Columbia influence what we see today.

The book should be a compelling read, especially if she wrote it in her voice.

But the most revealing section will be how Staley handles balancing egos and feelings with the responsibility of developing people.

Check that with the burden of developing competitive people.

She communicates, like every coach, with a strong voice.

But she also talks with hand gestures, arm gestures and body language.

The players, given her success, obviously respond.

Her real work, though, isnt making sure the pieces work together like a Swiss watch during the course of a game.

Its the constant overcommunication, sympathy, empathy and maybe even sometimes the mind-reading she has to exhibit year-round.

Shes constantly mindful of a dozen or so young people who dont always understand theres just one basketball, and only five of them can play at a time.

Thats got to be exhausting.

Very much so, Staley said, shaking her head.

But you condition them.

It's hard in the beginning to work through that because they don't quite understand what you're trying to do.

They just think you're resisting whatever they want to do.

(But) it's really cool I'm attracted to that, she added.

I'm drawn to that process of helping a young person just finding out who they are.

Once they do, you know they're not going to be taken advantage of.

I'm glad I get a chance to just kind of mold that at this stage of their lives.

The nuts and bolts of how she does it should be enlightening, if nothing else.

Well find out as starting tonight if she needs to add another championship page or two before it drops May 20..

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