Gamecock MBB & WBB Teams Win Ugly Games That'll Help In The Long Run

South Carolina's men's and women's basketball teams each won a game this week where not everything went perfectly, and it'll serve them well moving forward.

When a team goes through a game where they're making mistakes they don't usually make or their opponent, for one reason or another, is making things interesting, as a fan, you might find yourself about to pull your hair out, resting your head in the palm of your hands or hollering at the television more than usual. For coaches Lamont Paris and Dawn Staley, however, in a weird way, they like seeing those kinds of games every so often because it allows for there to be a teaching moment for a particular or the entire team as a whole.

It started earlier in the week with Paris' squad, who endured a back-and-forth affair against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish but managed to secure a 65-53 victory. I asked Lamont after the game if he's a coach who likes to see his team win ugly to prepare them for the future adversity they'll face, and he largely agreed with the sentiment of the question.

"It's nice to be able to win and still make some mistakes - You use it as a lesson, but at the same time, you like some games where, I mean, if you knew you were going to win, you'd never draw up a 25 point blowout. I don't think most coaches would, right?" Paris explained. "You never know when [adversity is] going to come around, and so you'd like to have real-life experience. You can simulate those things that practice all you want. It's just not the same."

Last night, it was Dawn and her team's turn to have a less than stellar outing, which, obviously, wasn't by choice, but turned out that way in their first true road game of the season against the No. 24 North Carolina Tar Heels. The Gamecocks trailed the Tar Heels up until the 5:48 mark in the 4th quarter, more time spent at a deficit last night alone than the rest of their games combined so far this season.

Dawn Staley questions a call from a referee in a game against Mississippi Valley State (24th Nov., 2023) / Jeff Blake | USA Today Network

Coach Staley said after the game that the team's younger players are still trying to figure things out, while players like Kamilla Cardoso had to contribute in different ways due to having an off night when, say, shooting the basketball.

While you don't want to see ugly wins become a trend for either team, just as in life, you never want things always to go right either. That's when real growth and development takes place.

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