South Carolina freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley has quickly grown her brand in college basketball. In March, she became the first college student-athlete to get signed by energy drink giant Red Bull during the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley

She was also part of the Gamecocks team that won the national championship title undefeated under coach Dawn Staley.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, Fulwiley showcased her raw street style, which has made her popular among college sports fans, alongside her talent on the court.

She wore a branded college jacket, jeans, a cap and a skull-branded T-shirt, captioning the Instagram post:

“loving this life #morelife ! ❤️😎.”

How MiLaysia Fulwiley sacrificed her game

MiLaysia Fulwiley is a South Carolina local, and the Gamecocks knew about her talent for a while as she displayed her skills at W.J. Keenan High School, getting promoted to the varsity team in seventh grade.

Dawn Staley recruited the McDonald’s All-American, and she had to adapt her game to fit into a roster full of talented players, where she handled the ball less than she did in high school.

Fulwiley averaged just 18.4 minutes this season and still averaged 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley revealed the sacrifices that MiLaysia Fulwiley had made to fit into the Gamecocks roster, making it one of the deepest benches in the country.

“I think MiLaysia Fulwiley has been very patient with us to be able to have a household name coming off the bench, playing maybe, probably less than 20 minutes a game,” Staley said, “where she could have gone anywhere else in the country and they’d have given her the ball time and time again.”

Staley also predicted that Fulwiley would likely want to play a bigger role for the national champions next year, and the Gamecocks coach showed an understanding of player psychology in her remarks.

“But winning a national championship will allow us and that relationship to continue to grow because I know she (Fulwiley) really wanted this,” Staley said. “And I would imagine that, come as early as next year, she’s going to want to be a starter, she’s going to want to play more minutes, she’s going to want a lot of different things because she got the big one.

“So now she’ll maybe want to concentrate on some individual awards. And I appreciate her sacrifice.”

The Gamecocks have lost a lot of experience with the departure of influential players like forward Kamila Cardoso, and next year could be when MiLaysia Fulwiley finally leads the team.

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