South Carolina hires Duke assistant Gandy

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina has hired Duke assistant Winston Gandy for a spot on coach Dawn Staley's staff.

The school announced the hire Friday, less than a week after Staley's long-time assistant Fred Chmiel left to become coach at Bowling Green.

Gandy worked for the Blue Devils in the past three seasons, including 2020-21 when the team cut short its season due to COVID-19 concerns. He helped Duke go 14-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference this past season and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Staley said in a statement Gandy was exactly the right person for the her team because of how he connects with young people.

“He is a highly sought after young talent in our game, and I'm so happy he is bringing his great basketball mind and ability to recruit and develop talent” to the Gamecocks, she said.

Gandy was an assistant at Rice for three seasons before moving to Duke. Gandy also spent three seasons with the Washington Wizards, where he was coordinator of player development for the NBA team.

Chmiel had spent 11 seasons coaching with Staley at Temple and eight with her Gamecocks.

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