South Carolina basketball has been one of the country’s best teams for much of the Dawn Staley tenure in Columbia. The Gamecocks now have a legitimate claim at being the nation’s top program. What many casual fans don’t realize, however, is that Coach Staley has had her coaching staff remain largely intact during the program’s rise to prominence with only one change occurring since 2015 when Jolette Law replaced Nikki McCray when the latter left for a head coaching job.
That continuity will be shaken up a bit. Long-time Staley assistant Fred Chmiel will no longer be on staff at South Carolina. He will be taking another stab at being a head coach as he was hired at Bowling Green as the replacement to outgoing Head Coach Robyn Fralick who took the same position at Michigan State.
Chmiel played a big role in coaching the post players for Carolina during his time with the Gamecocks. This means that he coached some of the best to ever play in garnet and black. Names like A’Ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, Alaina Coates, and Kamilla Cardoso have all been instructed by Chmiel.
As of now, there has been no news regarding who would replace Chmiel on Staley’s staff. McCray is back among the ranks of the nation’s assistant coaches as she is now an assistant at Rutgers. Perhaps a reunion would make sense.
If not McCray, Carolina fans can rest assured that Coach Staley will find a suitable replacement as she has connections all over the coaching industry from her time as a collegiate player, an Olympian, a pro, and a coach. As far as assistant opportunities, South Carolina basketball must be one of the most appealing jobs on the market as Staley handles much of the recruiting efforts, and the University of South Carolina invests more money into the basketball program than almost every other women’s program in the country.