Video: Dawn Staley shares her take on international tournaments as she turns up to scout Team USA stars at the FIBA U19 WWC

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley scouted Team USA stars for the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup. She has advice for basketball players representing their country.

In a video posted on Instagram by Next Gen Hoops on Wednesday, the Gamecocks coach listed the advantages of doing this.

“I would say any time that you get a chance to represent your country in any international tournament, it's going to help you in your career,” Staley said. “Is it competitive? Absolutely. You have entered team competition, and then you have the competition from different countries. It's only going to help you just grow as a young talent.

“It's going to broaden your horizons because culturally you see different things that you're not going to see within your country.”

A FIBA Hall of Famer, Staley made her international debut at FIBA U19 in 1989, and in 2015, she led the USA to gold as head coach.

Staley has witnessed a lot of success both as a player and as a coach representing the USA. She won three Olympic gold medals for the country, in 1996, 2000 and 2004, while winning two World Cups at the senior level, in 1998 and 2002.

Staley coached the women's basketball team to Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games. She became the first Black woman to serve as head coach of the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team and finished her tenure with a perfect 45-0 record in international competition.

After winning gold as a coach at both the U18 and U19 levels, she led the senior side to gold at the 2007 Pan American Games, the 2019 and 2021 FIBA AmeriCup and the 2018 World Cup.

The current U19 team is looking to add to the USA’s dominant success in this event, having won nine of the last 10, including the last three.

Dawn Staley links up with South Carolina-bound Agot Makeer

Dawn Staley’s trip to the FIFA U19 World Cup in the Czech Republic saw her link up with new signee Agot Makeer, who is representing Canada at the event. The coach posted on X, requesting Gamecock fans to show love to their new player.

“Send your @GamecockWBB love to @makeer_agot and family here in Czech Republic!! Got the dub today!” Staley wrote on Wednesday.

Makeer is an international signing who was highly sought-after by several programs but chose to commit to South Carolina. She is a 6-foot-1 wing who grew up in Ontario, Canada, and played her senior high school year at Montverde Academy in Florida.