South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley speaks on Ashlyn Watkins situation

With practice officially starting this week, South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley met with the media on Tuesday. Because her team has realistic expectations for another championship run this season and one of the team's top players is suspended, the press in attendance at the press conference asked about that situation almost immediately.

For those who may have missed it, forward Ashlyn Watkins was suspended pending an investigation into her arrest in August. The rising junior was charged with first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping due to an incident on campus. There is still an investigation and legal process that must play out to determine what exactly happened and what will be the result.

When asked about Watkins, Staley wasn't able to offer many details but said that the Columbia native's "status is still the same. Nothing has moved yet." She also described the situation as being (at this point), "out of her control and out of our control." As expected, Staley did not provide any specific details about Watkins' status or the legal process.

Watkins' legal standing, her standing with the University of South Carolina, and her place within the South Carolina basketball program are related but, ultimately, somewhat separate. However, according until the Gamecock head coach, "we're not going to move until [Watkins'] situation is settled down a bit." Until certain decisions are made above Staley (at the University and legal levels), she cannot make any real decisions.

Over the course of the last several weeks, reporting regarding Watkins' arrest has been all over the place. Because of that, and because of Staley's limited comments on Tuesday, everything seems to be "wait and see." For what it is worth, she later used the phrase "when Ashlyn returns" to talk about the future of her team.

Whether it is with or without Ashlyn Watkins, Dawn Staley's Gamecock squad will open their season in just over a month. USC will travel to Las Vegas on November 4th to take on the Michigan Wolverines as part of the Hall of Fame Series.