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A third straight Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award could beckon for South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, who’s one of four finalists for the annual honor.
Iowa’s Lisa Bluder, Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer and USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb round out the field, which was announced Monday.
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No coach has ever pulled off a Naismith three-peat to illustrate the history Staley is up against. It’s almost impossible to look past her, however, given what South Carolina achieved prior to the NCAA tournament.
The Gamecocks had to replace their leader in points (Zia Cooke) and rebounds (Aliyah Boston). Also going out the door were SEC All-Defensive honoree Brea Beal, Laeticia Amihere and Victaria Saxton.
To the extent a program like South Carolina could have a down year, this was shaping up to be a down year. Instead, the team went a perfect 32-0 heading into March Madness against one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Calling this the best coaching job of Staley’s tenure in Columbia may not be a stretch. Freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley has already emerged as a star, center Kamilla Cardoso has taken her game to a different level to fill the void left by Boston. And guard Te-Hina Paopao seamlessly transitioned into the backcourt following her transfer from Oregon.
Anything other than an unprecedented Naismith win for Staley will come as a bit of a surprise.
Should the voters look in a different direction, Gottlieb built a compelling case with how much the Trojans overachieved relative to their preseason expectations.
The arrival of guard JuJu Watkins brought a buzz to the program that hasn’t been seen in a while, yet nobody could’ve foreseen just how good she’d be already and what it would mean for USC.
Watkins averaged the second-most points (26.9) in Division I and powered her team to a 26-5 record and a Pac-12 conference title.
USC was more than just a one-woman show as wing McKenzie Forbes joined her on the All-Pac-12 team and center Rayah Marshall was an honorable mention.
The Trojans made steady progress under Gottlieb, going from 12 wins in 2021-22 to 21 in 2022-23. Now, fans aren’t wrong for thinking the heyday of the “Women of Troy” is soon to become a reality again.
When it comes to Bluder and VanDerveer, voters could be swayed by the way in which their respective programs maintained their consistent success.
Looking to improve on its national runner-up finish, Iowa went into the season without forward Monika Czinano and wing McKenna Warnock. The Hawkeyes didn’t bring in any major reinforcements through high school recruiting or the transfer portal, either.
Thanks largely to the singular brilliance of star Caitlin Clark, Iowa managed to notch 29 wins and claim the Big Ten tournament crown to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Like Bluder, VanDerveer lost a pair of important contributors from 2022-23. Haley Jones moved on to the WNBA and Lauren Betts transferred to UCLA. In the case of the latter, her 14.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game offer a glimpse into what the Cardinal were missing.
With Cameron Brink leading the way, Stanford nonetheless managed to have the Pac-12’s best record (15-3) and reached the final of the conference tournament.
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