When Winston Gandy took over the position of assistant coach on Dawn Staley’s staff two years ago, she made just one prediction. And on March 24, 2025, it came true as Gandy was officially announced as the head coach for Grand Canyon University’s women’s basketball program. But while he and his wife left for the Valley, there’s still one more stop they need to make. Not just for a crucial game, but for a special moment with his former boss. But…will he return?

If you ask Dawn Staley, the answer is clear.

“I hope so,” she said when asked if Gandy would attend the pregame ring ceremony after a recent practice session. “Or we’re gonna keep the ring,” she grinned, pausing just long enough for her response to feel intentionally playful, but it meant much more, not just for Staley, but for her former assistant too.

The banners for NCAA tournament championships, SEC regular season titles, and Final Four appearances one after another: Gandy lived through all those moments with the beloved Gamecocks side. So now, as they celebrate their 2024–25 season with a special ceremony, how could he or Chloe Rice miss it?

“He knows, he knows,” Dawn Staley added. “And I think it’ll be pretty cool for his team, for them to be a part of it too. Because to go to a Final Four is monumental for any coach to experience that, and to have your team witness getting your heart where, and to see one of the banners that he was able to help us win, he’s only going to help his experience as a coach.”

She’s absolutely right. When Winston Gandy joined the Gamecocks, he already had three years of experience as an assistant coach under Olympic gold medalist Kara Lawson at Duke. Even in his final year there, he helped the Blue Devils finish second in the ACC at 14-4 and close the season ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll. So when Gandy joined a Hall of Fame coach like Staley, he brought more than just potential; he brought experience and hunger.

And it reflected. He helped guide the Gamecocks to a perfect 38-0 record and the 2024 National Championship. He even worked closely with All-American Te-Hina Paopao, who led the nation in three-point accuracy at 46.8% during the 2023–24 season. Under his guidance, the Gamecocks shot 39.5% from deep, ranking third nationally.

If anyone ever doubted his impact, Dawn Staley herself said it best. “I’m going to give a lot of credit to Winston Gandy, who works with our perimeter players every single day,” she recalled, following the Gamecocks’ championship win over Iowa during her ESPN interview. 

“And then he had the Iowa scout – trust me, he was the difference maker. He watched them and watched. It was information overload, that I just let him talk. He did a hell of a job on this scout. He explained it in a way that our kids could lock in and execute, and they weren’t going to be denied,” Staley recounted.

It included one of the most crucial defensive missions in college basketball history, stopping Caitlin Clark, the NCAA’s all-time scoring phenom. So yes, if anyone deserves a ring, it’s Winston Gandy. Every hour, every scout report, every ounce of dedication; it all mattered! But as Staley pointed out, the ring isn’t just a reward for him. 

This will be a new lesson for Winston Gandy’s team as well…. 

When Winston Gandy was named the 10th head coach of the Grand Canyon women’s basketball program, he knew it was not going to be a cakewalk. It was his first head coaching gig, and he inherited a roster in transition. The Antelopes had just come off their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, but this season, only two players returned from that team.

Still, if there’s one thing Gandy learned from Staley, it’s never to shy away from challenges. He quickly rebuilt the roster, adding 14 new players, including Cincinnati transfer Chloe Mann. And his work didn’t go unnoticed. Grand Canyon was picked to finish No. 7 in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll. It’s a modest projection, but for a new program under a first-year head coach, it’s definitely the beginning of something big.

But Winston Gandy isn’t focused on rankings. He’s focused on growth. “The team that you see in November is going to be different from the team that you see in December, in January, and so on,” the new head coach said. “In June, I was like, I don’t think we’re gonna win a game. And then in July, I’m like, we may win a couple. And then when they came back in August, you start preseason, you’re like, OK, we may be all right from that standpoint. So that’s my hope – from November to January, you’re like, ‘Man, I can’t believe that was that team in November.”

Well, it’s the kind of patience and vision that Dawn Staley herself preaches: the belief that progress, not perfection, is what builds dynasties. And in true Staley fashion, Gandy didn’t take the easy route. He’s heading into one of the toughest games of the season for Grand Canyon, a matchup against South Carolina! Why? Because that’s precisely what Staley did in the early years of her career. She faced powerhouse UConn head-on fearlessly.

The Antelopes’ head coach knows coaching against a three-time national champion who has won 647 games won’t be easy. But that’s the point. It’s not about proving something to Staley. It’s about honoring what she taught him and teaching his new team exactly what he expects of them.