South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley opened the new season facing two very familiar opponents — Grand Canyon’s Winston Gandy and Bowling Green’s Fred Chmiel, both of whom once served on her coaching staff in Columbia.
Chmiel was part of Staley’s bench from 2015 to 2023 before landing his first head coaching opportunity at Bowling Green. When he departed, Gandy took over his spot, serving under Staley from 2023 to 2025 before moving on to lead Grand Canyon.
Both former assistants returned to Colonial Life Arena this season — but this time, on opposite sidelines. And both quickly realized how different it feels to be on the other side of a South Carolina rout.
“Well, I finally get to see kind of what a lot of other teams got to experience the last two years here,” Gandy said after the 94–54 loss to the Gamecocks.
Chmiel, whose Falcons had already fallen to South Carolina earlier in the season, shared similar sentiments after a 114–47 defeat.
“Yeah, it’s the number two team in the country for a reason,” Chmiel said. “Not only do they have great players, they have great coaching. The environment is incredible. It’s a lot to handle, and it was a lot for us to handle.”
For Gandy, the return to Columbia brought back muscle memory — almost literally.
“I think it was a little weird. I mean, even coming in, I think I went to the wrong locker room,” Gandy admitted. “It was like one locker room off, and they all started laughing. But this place has been great to me. Obviously, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time here, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by the sense of community.”
Chmiel echoed that same nostalgia as he described his return to familiar streets and hallways.
“It was different for me,” Chmiel said. “Rolling into town and seeing some of the areas that I used to frequent and some of the routes I used to take to work and the office that I spent so much time in — it’s a little out-of-body experience, I can say that, I guess. But you know, I had great moments here, I had great times. And you know, I still love all the people here. They’re like my family.”
That “family” atmosphere is something Staley has long fostered within her coaching tree. Now in her 18th season at South Carolina, she remains known for supporting her former assistants — even when they’re coaching against her.
Still, Staley made it clear that sentiment stops when the game begins.
“Anybody that comes in here, whether they’re family or foe, we want to beat,” Staley said after the Grand Canyon game. “So, it was cool. It’ll be cool to have Fred back with his team. And I hope it’s the same result.”
For Gandy, facing his mentor was an emotional yet rewarding experience — one that highlighted how far he and his players have come.
“It’s kind of bittersweet, if that makes sense. But really, really cool to see a lot of familiar faces, a lot of growth,” Gandy said. “That’s why I’m in this game — to impact young women’s lives — and to really see that on both sides come to fruition is really cool.”
He credited both his wife and Staley for helping him handle that moment with composure.
“Dawn kind of showed me that for two years,” Gandy said. “Doesn’t matter what arena you’re playing in — the game is the game. There will be things that happen outside the game, but you’ve got to keep the main thing the main thing.”
For both former assistants, the night served as a reminder of their roots — and a motivator to help their current teams grow with the same resilience and pride they once learned under Dawn Staley.
