COLUMBIA — After South Carolina women's basketball lost to Iowa in the Final Four on March 31, 2023, it was evident things were going to change.

Coach Dawn Staley lost her starting lineup, including star center Aliyah Boston, and would enter the 2023-24 season with just one senior.

Staley decided to hire former player Markeshia Grant to focus solely on team building.

“I think sometimes when you are on the court, there are some intense moments and sometimes you say and do things you wouldn’t off the court so if we can jointly work through some team building and life skills while trying to form some chemistry on the court, I think it works hand in hand,” Staley told The Greenville News.

Suddenly, teammates who just met, could share life stories of one another before the regular season began.

Markeshia Grant's work with South Carolina women's basketball

Grant played for Staley from 2010-12 and found her way back to the program as a graduate assistant from 2015-17. Staley hired her as an independent contractor as the team building coach, a style of work Grant's been specializing in for the past four years with her business Savvy Skills, LLC. Savvy Skills helps "students transform the way that they think about life and sports through progressive forward thinking and transformational action."

When Staley began her annual summer camp in July, players as usual helped out as staff members. Staley knew she had a goofy group and saw that humor, laughter and joy were three common characteristics of this new team.

Grant noticed the vibe during Staley's summer camp, too, so she crafted a specific team building plan catered to the Gamecocks' style. Each session was dedicated time that allowed Grant's work to focus on who the Gamecocks are off the court.

It began with the first exercise when Grant asked ice-breaker questions and was pleasantly surprised that the players answered them in depth and without issue. What normally takes Grant numerous sessions to succeed, occurred instantly.

"Oh yeah, this team is different," Grant remembers thinking.

Painting was another highly successful activity which brought out creativity within the players, allowing them to find things out about one another that they didn't know before. While painting, Grant would start conversations about their time in high school, their families and other personal questions. Soon after, the players could answer personal questions about one another.

"That tells me they pay attention to each other, to detail, they're intentional," said Grant.

Building relationships with South Carolina women's basketball

Grant's job is team building, but she is in constant communication with the team's mental performance coach Dr. Raylene Ross. Although the activities only happened roughly once a month, Grant was always at practice, always around the team.

"(I was) intentional about them being familiar with me, it's not just a one time thing, it's not a transactional relationship," Grant said. "You really have to build relationships with players in order for them to connect with you. I was intentional about being visible and accessible."

None of the South Carolina coaches were around for the team building sessions, leaving the investment in Grant's hands entirely. From the jump, Staley thought it was the perfect fit.

“It makes them a little bit more vulnerable to each other and they know whatever happens on the court is happening out of a place of love and hopefully when they are doing their team bonding, it’s a deeper level of understanding that," said Staley.

For Tessa Johnson, a freshman last season, Grant's work was some of her earliest experiences within the program.

"Coming in as a freshman, it's a little scary, I am leaving my family and I'm coming into a whole new chapter of my life," Johnson said. "I'm really big with relationships so (team building activities) helped me a lot off the court, and it really helped me on the court because I was able to trust my teammates and build a relationship with each person individually."

NEXT SEASON: South Carolina women's basketball looks loaded again in 2024-25 roster under Dawn Staley

Grant's three pillars of a successful program are good character, culture and chemistry and this new job was a perfect opportunity to bring her skills back to the school she played for.

Another victory for Staley in an undefeated season.

“For us to win a national championship on top of that, makes it seem like it was genius,” Staley said.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: The change Dawn Staley made that led to South Carolina's NCAA title