How Khadijah Sessions is bringing energy, expertise as coach for USC women’s basketball

Long before the South Carolina women’s basketball coaching staff had an opening, Dawn Staley thought of Khadijah Sessions.

Sessions played for the Gamecocks from 2013-16, helping them to their first Final Four (2014-15), three SEC regular-season championships and two SEC tournament titles. She rejoined Staley’s program in July, seven years after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in hospitality, restaurant and tourism management.

She has infused energy and expertise into every endeavor since her arrival.

“Khadijah’s a coach,” Staley said. “She’s a coach. She’s a point guard. When you play the point guard position, that’s what you do. You’re a point guard for life. And it’s been seamless with her.”

Sessions, who is from Myrtle Beach, is one of two additions to South Carolina’s coaching ranks since last season and the departure of Fred Chmiel for Bowling Green State. Assistant coach Winston Gandy was hired from Duke in April. Sessons and Gandy both step in to help run the team’s practice squad on occasion.

After graduating and prior to her return, Sessions played a season of professional basketball in Finland and on the United States’ gold medal team from the 2019 FIBA AmericCup coached by Staley. She then pivoted to coaching. Sessions privately trained basketball players in Columbia and coached a local AAU team. In 2020 she became the head coach of Ridge View High School’s boys junior varsity squad while also working as an assistant coach for the varsity team. In 2022 she helped the Blazers’ boys varsity team secure the 5A state championship.

Ten of Sessions’ players have gone on to play college basketball over the course of her coaching career.

Staley believes Sessions is a natural at her new job. South Carolina’s players echo Staley’s praise.

“I love working with her,” Oregon transfer guard Te-Hina Paopao said of Sessions. “She’s a defensive specialist. I’ve been working on defense. So she’s been very helpful in that way and just getting me better as a defensive player.”

“Khadijah is like the energy source,” sophomore guard Raven Johnson said. “She’s a fireball. She’ll just be running up and down the sideline, like just screaming, and we need that. She loves defense. So it gets us amped up. I’m glad she’s on the staff.”

In a mic’d up video posted on the team’s social media accounts, Sessions called herself Staley’s best 94-feet defender. In the same video, her energy and expertise shine through. One moment she’s jumping around, modeling drills, clapping and shouting encouragements. The next she is calm, laser-focused and precise in her feedback or instruction.

“You don’t have to teach her anything,” Staley said. “You don’t have to guide her. Maybe we’ll have to guide her with some other stuff, doing scouting reports the way we like to do them. But as far as basketball, top tier.”