South Carolina coach Dawn Staley reacts to criticism of her team’s physicality following Final Four loss to Iowa

DALLAS — In victory or defeat, Dawn Staley’s love of her team runs deep, and she made that crystal clear following the Gamecocks’ 77-73 loss to Iowa in the Final Four.

Friday night, Staley responded to critics of her team’s play earlier this season and again had strong words for those — specifically in the media — who criticize Staley’s approach and her team’s physicality.

“We’re not bar fighters. We’re not thugs. We’re not monkeys. We’re not street fighters,” she said. “This team exemplifies how you need to approach basketball on the court and off the court. … So you can not like our team and you can not like me. But when you say things that you probably should be saying in your home on the phone or texting out in public and you’re being heard, and you are a national writer for our sport, it just confirms what we already know.

“So watch what you say when you’re in public and you’re talking about my team in particular. Just watch what you say about our team because it’s wrong. You’ve got young lives who are really — if you really knew them, if you really knew them like you really want to know other players that represent this game, you would think differently. So don’t judge us by the color of our skin.”

Before Friday’s game, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said battling the Gamecocks for rebounds was like “going to a bar fight,” according to Sports Illustrated. Bluder said Saturday that she did not see Staley’s postgame comments.

“I mean, if you know me, I speak tongue-in-cheek a lot, and I was just saying an analogy of you’ve got to rebound like you’re in a bar fight. That’s all,” she said.

Bluder added that she meant “absolutely no ill intent” by her comment, saying, “Yeah, I really meant it as a compliment, like you are going to have to fight harder than you’ve ever fought in your life to get a defensive rebound against this team because they are so good. That’s what my intent was.”

Staley’s coaching philosophy was born at home in North Philly and fostered in the Developmental Basketball League and at Dobbins Tech.

“I grew up in the projects in North Philly,” she said. “You pretty much had to fight for everything, every single thing. And I don’t really take anything for granted. I don’t really like handouts. So everything that we do, we have to work for. That is the mentality that I try to instill in our players, and to be disciplined in that. I had a mother who was a disciplinarian, so I don’t know any other way besides just doing things the right way and doing things the way she wanted things done.”

Staley, who previously coached at Temple and played professionally for the short-lived Philadelphia Rage, also uses her wardrobe to send messages to her team — and the wider basketball world.

Staley was spotted coaching while wearing a pin in support of Brittney Griner during the WNBA star’s detention in Russia, and, in lighter moments, wearing Philly hoops legend Yolanda Laney’s Cheyney University jersey during South Carolina’s second-round win over South Florida, paying homage to the only HBCU to have played in a national championship game. That jersey was a favorite of Gamecocks star Zia Cooke, who said she was inspired by the outfit.

“I loved the outfit, but I didn’t even realize there was a message behind it,” Cooke said Thursday. “And that made me love it even more.”

Later, Cooke added: “[Staley has] always taught us to stand [up] for what we believe in and also just support other people. She supports a lot of people, even with her being who she is, she always wants to see other people be great as well.”

And her players reciprocate that love.

“Playing under Coach Staley, she’s helped me with my confidence a lot,” said Aliyah Boston, getting emotional as she talked about the woman who’s mentored her for four seasons. “She’s always been that second mom, no matter what. … I think she just helps you every step of the way. She asks you questions if you don’t know. She goes into more detail. She wants to see you succeed.”