COLUMBIA — When South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley looks down the sideline against Bowling Green, she’ll see a familiar face sitting at the front of the opposing bench.
Longtime Gamecocks coach Fred Chmiel accepted his first head coaching job at Bowling Green after helping the team to a third straight Final Four last season. He was Staley’s assistant in Columbia from 2015-23 and also served on her staff at Temple from 2006-08. The pair’s relationship goes back even further: Chmiel coached Staley as an assistant for the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting in 2005.
“Fred’s been long overdue in getting his own program and being a head coach. I know he’s going to do a tremendous job,” Staley said Monday. “The one unfortunate thing is the weather. I know he’s freezing … but it’s pretty cool. He’s been trying to find the right situation when Bowling Green called, I think it was the perfect combination for him and them.”
South Carolina (10-0) heads to Bowling Green to face Chmiel’s Falcons (6-2) on Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPN+) for just the second time in program history. The last time the teams met was in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Tournament, and the Gamecocks won 93-50.
Staley said Bowling Green’s matchups were already mostly finalized when she reached out about a potential reunion in 2023-24, but Chmiel moved some dates around to help South Carolina fill its schedule. The Gamecocks coach said she saw shades of his style already as she scouted the Falcons this week.
“When you’re around people as long as we’ve been around, some stuff looks similar. He’s probably taken a thing or two and added his spin to it,” Staley said. “I think he’s instilled the discipline because they’re real calculating. They’re really good at what they do and they stay within what they do, and that’s the sign of a really well-coached team.”
Chmiel was a part of both of South Carolina’s national championships in 2017 and 2022, and Temple reached the NCAA Tournament both years he was there. He worked primarily with the Gamecocks’ frontcourt and helped produce two National Players of the Year, A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston.
But Staley said Chmiel’s impact on the program went far beyond his on-court accomplishments.
“Fred is more than a coach. He’s a friend. He’s someone that actually gave me an opportunity, if I needed to sit down during practice, it was in good hands. I needed to go on the road and recruit, he’s a great teacher,” Staley said. “He loves the game. He was here first, always … There’s nothing more comforting than to know that if you needed to take a mental break off, you have people like Fred working when you’re not working.”
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