Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
COLUMBIA — The gap between Clemson and South Carolina in women’s basketball remains wider than the No. 2 Gamecocks’ 65-37 win at Colonial Life Arena might indicate. It’s wider than USC’s now 15 straight wins in this series. USC (3-0) was too big, too skilled and too strong on Tuesday. Even with only nine players available after Maddie McDaniel was suspended before the game for breaking team rules. “They’ve got a really good basketball team over there,” Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said. “We knew that coming in. Seeing up close and personal … not sure you realize how big they are until you sit there on the sideline and watch.” More confident, too. Part of it’s rooted in the annual results of this one-sided series. These Gamecocks — and many before them for nearly two decades — don’t know what it’s like to lose to Clemson. It’s more of a theory than a possibility no matter how their Hall of Fame coach frames things ahead of time. Wild fact: Dawn Staley lost her first two games against Clemson before rolling off this wild streak. And speaking of Staley, the hard truth is the gap between these programs will never completely close so long as she and Champ are at USC. It’s not happening. This thing isn’t going backwards this year, that’s for sure. It was evident on Tuesday against Clemson (2-1). USC jumped out to an 11-0 lead, played with its food and then regrouped to go up 35-24 at halftime. That pattern repeated in the second half, though things were never really in question. “As much as I can get mad at what’s happening out there on the floor,” Staley said, “when you really look at it, we’re just a really young basketball team. We’ve been experienced in having to play together. So we've got to go through some things.” Even with Staley looking for warts, it’s still apparent how far behind Clemson is to the likes of USC. The Magician It’s not the kind of ground you can quickly make up. There’s a difference in become respectable — as Clemson did last year by going 14-17 (6-12 ACC) in Poppie’s first season — and becoming elite. He’s been a magician at other places, however. Poppie immediately flipped a Chattanooga program that was 7-22 the year before he arrived into back-to-back Southern Conference champs. Don’t think that’s a big deal? The Clemson media guide says he “orchestrated an unbelievable turnaround.” You don’t often see that kind of giddy editorializing even in home-team publications. Still, it was an undeniable achievement, certainly enough to prod athletic director Graham Neff to hire Poppie in 2024. And he’s making things happen. Clemson is competing harder, winning more and recruiting at their highest level ever. The Tigers have four top-seven recruits as of Nov. 11. All of that could be partially attributed to a more robust financial commitment by the school to elevate its women’s program. Every game is a money game in college athletics, and women’s basketball is no different. But the core of it all is Poppie. The money and all that doesn’t mean a thing without the right system and without the right culture. And the system is the culture when it comes to the Tigers. That means team basketball that’s composed of what Poppie has described as a puzzle-piece roster. Clemson wants the best players, certainly, though it’s paramount to have the right ones fit into the bigger picture. It’s a beautiful thing when it comes together. “We're starting to build something special because I think there’s no doubt we can do it,” Poppie said. “You can look right down the road, and that’s what the standard is in our sport — it has been for a little while. It’s our goal and our dream to be matching that. What a game that would be when we get to where we can come in here and compete every single year.” But who will he be facing off against by the time that happens? Under her terms When it comes to Staley and USC basketball, it’s not a case of a coach thinking they’re bigger than the program. Staley is the program. She built it, guides it and guards it. The Gamecocks will be elite as long as Staley is here. It won’t last forever, though. There will be a drop-off after Staley, 55, eventually leaves. When that happens and due to what circumstances are a mystery, other than it will 100 percent be under her terms. Could it be for another college job? That’s seriously doubtful, unless Virginia completely bottoms out and she’s lured back to her alma mater to save the day. Otherwise, she’d be starting over, so forget it. She’s dabbled enough with the NBA to not take it seriously because they don’t take her seriously. Their half-hearted overtures over the years are now at the point that Staley doesn’t have time for their foolishness. It’s the NBA’s loss. But to USC’s benefit, obviously. She’s still here. Which means the Gamecocks remain elite. “That’s a team that’s going to play on a really deep run (into the postseason), as everyone has predicted,” Poppie said. “I think they’re all of what the predictions say.” And more than what Tuesday's final score said, too.
