WATCH: Dawn Staley Admits She Considered Retirement This Past Offseason

While speaking to the College Gameday crew, South Carolina's women's basketball coach made a stunning admission.

When you lose the pieces from a championship-contending team, it's easy to see how the road back to the top can be a significant challenge, but while chatting with the College Gameday crew ahead of South Carolina's matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon, Dawn Staley admitted something that was shocking, to say the least. The 24-year coaching vet. has made it no secret that the Gamecocks were nowhere near where they needed to be back in the Summertime, and the team was so out of sorts to the point where Dawn legitimately considered if she was ready to walk away from the game for good.

Dawn Staley revealed that she considered retirement after losing all five starters 👀 pic.twitter.com/gC21XJxX6t

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) February 18, 2024

"Considering what it looked like in June, [I thought about] early retirement. I was considering it. Seriously," Staley lamented. "[The players] really weren't in a good place. We lacked leadership; we lacked conditioning; we lacked discipline."

Dawn Staley voicing her displeasure with the officials in the Gamecocks matchup vs. UConn (11th Feb., 2024) / Jeff Blake | USA Today Network

Dawn Staley could undoubtedly walk away from the game today and would go down as one of the most influential figures ever in basketball history. Still, the fact that South Carolina fans almost had to adjust to the post-Dawn era in Columbia this past Summer is a touch surprising from an outside perspective. Luckily for Gamecock fans, the ride isn't over yet, and if the winning continues, it likely won't be over for a good while.

How To Watch: No. 1 South Carolina Vs. Georgia

• Gameday: Sunday, February 18th, 2024
• Venue: Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, SC)
• Game time: 1:00 PM ET
• TV/Streaming: ABC
• Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
• Live stream on fuboTV: Start with a 7-day free trial!

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