In Photos: South Carolina HC Dawn Staley thanks Vanessa Bryant for gifting Nike Kobe 8 “Mambacita” made to celebrate Gigi Bryant’s birthday

South Carolina's Dawn Staley recently received a special gift from Vanessa Bryant, the widow of the late Kobe Bryant.

Vanessa Bryant sent the South Carolina head coach a pair of Nike Kobe 8 that seem to have been previously owned by Vanessa and Kobe's daughter, Gigi Bryant. Gigi perished in the tragic helicopter accident in 2020 alongside her father.

Dawn Staley shared pictures of the gift on her Instagram account, adding the following caption:

"@vanessabryant thank you kindly for sharing Gigi’s legacy with me! I’ll cherish them forever!"

---

South Carolina is opening the 2024-25 season in Las Vegas

The reigning national champions will open up the next season in Las Vegas, Nevada, although they don't have an opponent yet. Well, they used to have an assigned opponent, but they don't have it anymore.

On Wednesday, Lady Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley spoke to local South Carolina radio station 107.5 about the situation:

"I don't know if I should say this but we are going to open the season in Vegas against an opponent that is fluctuating because the opponent we were supposed to play is not going to play us anymore ... we will play in Vegas though, I will give our listeners that much."

---

Dawn Staley on the future of South Carolina's basketball

Dawn Staley just won her third national title with South Carolina, and the second in the last three years. Some might say that she's starting to build what might be called a dynasty in the SEC school.

In mid-April Staley spoke with CNBC about what she foresees will be the future of the Gamecocks women's basketball program:

“I think we are in a moment … from a place where our game has been held back to now it’s at a place where it’s bursting through the seams … I think it’s going to get better and better.”

By that measure, the program is posed to become a dominating force in years to come. She also took the opportunity to thank the school's administrators and to talk about the future of the women's game:

“I hope every school or university treats women’s sports like South Carolina, they invest in my salary, they invest in student-athletes and we’re here... I think now is the time [schools] are seeing there is a return on your investment when you pour into our game... Caitlin Clark is a superstar. I credit her for raising the level and we need to thank her for that.”

After last season, with college women's basketball breaking all sorts of records and the championship game attracting more viewers than the male counterpart, it would be logical to expect further investment from schools in the sport. College basketball is becoming not just a good sport, but also a good business. There's the key.