South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley has detailed how her newest recruit from abroad is adjusting to her system and overall program as 2026 commences. On Wednesday, Jan. 7, women’s basketball reporter Claire Foley uploaded a video to her X/Twitter account that shows Staley attending to media interviews during a recent Gamecocks practice session.
The 55-year-old was then asked about how her latest player, 6-foot-7 forward Alicia Tournebize, is being integrated into her team, especially since she is coming in as the 2025-26 campaign reaches its midway point. For Staley, she acknowledges that the 18-year-old already has experience playing professionally and on the international stage, which has helped her ease into the Gamecocks program, along with the help of her teammates.
“ Great, great. I mean she’s been a pro, so she understands what she needs to do to, to come in here and, you know, get in the weight room, get in, get a little treatment, come out here and practice a little bit. Not, not much, she hasn’t practiced a whole lot. We’ll continue to ramp her up,” Staley shared.
Staley and the Gamecocks are looking to win the 2026 national championship this year after they came up short in the 2024-25 campaign, losing to the eventual national champions, the UConn Huskies, in the 2025 national title game by 23 points, 82-59. Currently, they have an overall record of 15-1 (2-0 SEC), and are the No. 1 seed in the SEC. Their next game is against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday, Jan. 8.
Dawn Staley Details When Alicia Tournebize May Suit Up For The South Carolina Gamecocks
Later on, her recent interview with the media during a South Carolina Gamecocks practice session, Dawn Staley gave a glimpse into when onlookers can expect Alicia Tournebize to suit up for the 2024 national champions for the first time. While Staley did not give an exact date of when, she did hint that it will be coming soon enough as long as she can ease into her program and its system in a natural way.
“ We don’t want to just throw her out. That is unfair to her to do that. But at some point, hopefully soon that we get her out there in the game,” Staley explained.
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