PARIS — Dawn Staley was a six-time WNBA All-Star, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Naismith College Player of the Year during her decorated playing career.

But the South Carolina women's basketball coach has never seen anything like freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley.

"I don't have the gall," Staley said. "I never had the gall to do multiple moves ... to add two and three and four moves in connection, it's pretty incredible. To allow the receiver to know its coming and make her job easy, she's pretty special. I said she's a generational talent, and that's what I meant. A lot of people may think the definition of a generational talent is something else and you can only say it to really special players. She is. She's special."

Staley has never shied away from describing Fulwiley as a "generational talent," using the loaded phrase as early as the first official practice in October. Fulwiley, who was the No. 13 prospect in the Class of 2023, looked like every bit the superstar Staley promised in her collegiate debut against Notre Dame on Monday.

The 5-foot-10 freshman helped lead No. 4 South Carolina (1-0) to a 100-71 win over the No. 10 Irish (0-1), recording 17 points, six assists and a team-leading six steals. What really set her apart though was the highlight-reel plays — a behind-the-back up-and-under layup that drew attention online from NBA icons Magic Johnson and Kevin Durant, a no-look pass whipped to Te-Hina Paopao for a layup at the low post, a block on 6-2 forward Cassandre Propser.

"That behind the back move, that's actually a move that I do really often," Fulwiley said. "It's something I did in high school, so when I did it I kind of felt like I was back in high school ... It comes with a lot of practice. I do it all the time in practice so when I get to the game, it's almost like easy."

Fulwiley found out about the national attention from a fan during the game, who shouted down to her that Durant had posted about her behind-the-back play on social media. She ducked her head shyly talking about the reactions, but also had a clear message: Don't look away.

"I just want people to know I'm a player who's going to play until the clock goes off," Fulwiley said. "I feel like people don't' know that I'm actually good at defense and stuff. I work hard on defense just as much as I do on offense. That move made everybody notice me, so I hope that they keep watching."

South Carolina looks different in 2023-24 than it has in nearly a decade, leaning heavily on guard play rather than a stacked post rotation. Gone are A'ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston, but Staley has a nose for talent and knew she wanted Fulwiley from the first moment she saw her play. She offered Fulwiley when the Columbia native was in seventh grade, already starting varsity for W.J. Keenan.

Staley has seen Fulwiley attempt her wild passes and tricks in practice countless times, to varying degrees of success. She even acknowledged Monday that Fulwiley had a poor performance at practice the day prior, but Staley is even more confident in how bright the freshman's future can be after watching her execute so flawlessly in a game.

GAMECOCKS VS NOTRE DAME: How childhood love of Paris brought South Carolina, Notre Dame to historic basketball season opener

"You can't help but feel it as as basketball enthusiast in the moment, because there's not a lot of, like any players that can do that," Staley said. "Male, female, whoever else, most people who play basketball cannot do that. They don't have the vision, don't have the skillset to do it. For her to have all of it ... I was pretty impressed."

Follow South Carolina women's basketball reporter Emily Adams on X @eaadams6 and subscribe to The Greenville News for exclusive coverage of the Gamecocks in Paris: https://subscribe.greenvilleonline.com/offers.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley of South Carolina is talk of basketball world