Why South Carolina’s Maryam Dauda Chose the Gym Over a Break This Offseason to Become an Elite Force in 2025

While the offseason for most college basketball players is often filled with much-needed downtime, tropical getaways, and social media highlights from the beach, South Carolina forward Maryam Dauda has taken a starkly different approach. With laser focus and a relentless work ethic, Dauda has transformed the lull between seasons into a springboard for growth. While others hit the beach, she’s in the gym—grinding, sweating, and evolving her game one rep at a time. Her decision to forgo rest in favor of refinement speaks volumes about where she’s headed in 2025, and why she might be one of the most important players in the SEC this coming season.

Dauda’s emergence as a force within Dawn Staley’s program is no coincidence. Her path to prominence has been paved with perseverance, discipline, and intentionality. The offseason grind, a place where good players become great and great ones become legendary, has become Dauda’s personal battleground. She’s chosen work over rest, process over pleasure, and excellence over excuses.

It started with a self-assessment. After a solid but not yet breakout year with the Gamecocks, Dauda went back to the tape. She spent hours reviewing her movements, her shot mechanics, her defensive reads, and the minute inefficiencies that can make all the difference in high-level basketball. She didn’t see a finished product—she saw a foundation that needed more steel beams, more polish, more power.

“I realized there’s a gap between where I am and where I want to be,” Dauda shared recently in a team interview. “That gap doesn’t close on its own. It closes in the gym. It closes when no one is watching.”

And so, she got to work.

Dauda’s training regimen has been nothing short of intense. While her teammates caught up with family or unwound after a grueling season, Dauda doubled down on her craft. Mornings began with strength training sessions focused on explosiveness, core control, and endurance. Afternoon sessions centered on shooting—hundreds of makes per day, refining not just her range, but her balance and decision-making. And the evenings? Footwork, pick-and-roll situations, and defensive timing. Every day looked like pre-season camp. No beach trips. No break. Just business.

“She’s the kind of player who sets the tone without saying much,” said South Carolina assistant coach Jolette Law. “You walk into the gym in May, and there’s Maryam, drenched in sweat, putting up shots. She’s not doing it for show—she’s doing it because she wants to be elite.”

And make no mistake—Dauda has the tools to become elite. Standing at 6-foot-4, she possesses the length, agility, and instincts to become a two-way nightmare. Her footwork in the post is fluid and precise, her mid-range jumper is quietly deadly, and her ability to alter shots defensively gives South Carolina a rim protector they can build around. But where she’s making the biggest leap this offseason is in confidence and control.

During her 2024 campaign, Dauda showed flashes of brilliance but occasionally deferred to veteran teammates. Now, with key departures and a leadership vacuum waiting to be filled, she’s embracing the opportunity to assert herself. That starts with being the hardest worker in the room. And she’s quickly earning respect because of it.

“She’s not waiting for someone to hand her the keys,” Coach Staley said. “She’s already taken the keys. She’s in the driver’s seat, and she’s speeding toward her potential.”

What makes her decision to forgo a break even more compelling is the broader context. In an era where rest and recovery are emphasized—and rightfully so—Dauda’s choice is not a rejection of self-care but a commitment to timing. She’s balancing her body’s needs while pushing it to new limits, with the full support of South Carolina’s performance staff. Every workout is calculated. Every rest day is earned. It’s a carefully built system, one aimed at peaking when the season demands it most.

And behind that work ethic is a mindset that refuses to settle.

“I’ve got goals that go beyond college,” Dauda said. “WNBA dreams, national championships, legacy stuff. That doesn’t happen if you’re just doing what everyone else does. You’ve got to do more.”

That mentality is contagious. Younger players are noticing. Recruits are watching. The culture of South Carolina women’s basketball, already rooted in discipline and competitiveness, is getting another injection of intensity thanks to Dauda’s example. She’s not just working for herself—she’s lifting the standard for the whole program.

Even in the digital age where training clips are posted to go viral, Dauda’s offseason has largely happened in silence. Her social media feeds aren’t filled with curated highlight videos or photo shoots. Her Instagram story doesn’t show palm trees—it shows sweat on the hardwood. That’s by design.

“I don’t need to prove anything on social,” she said with a grin. “I want to prove it on the court.”

When the 2025 season begins, fans may see a transformed Maryam Dauda. But those within the program won’t be surprised—they’ve been watching the transformation unfold in real time. What’s taking shape is a player who understands that greatness isn’t built during the regular season. It’s built in June, July, and August, when the lights are off and the grind gets lonely.

And yet, for Dauda, this is where she feels most alive.

“I love it,” she said simply. “This is where I belong. This is what it takes.”

With her size, skill set, and drive, Dauda is positioning herself as a breakout candidate for 2025. Her ability to stretch the floor, protect the rim, and lead by example could make her a centerpiece of South Carolina’s championship pursuit. But beyond the stats and the scouting reports is the soul of a competitor who just won’t quit.

In the end, what sets Dauda apart isn’t just her talent. It’s her mindset. It’s the willingness to make sacrifices when no one is watching. It’s the decision to choose the gym over the beach, the reps over the rest, the grind over the glam.

And if that work pays off the way it’s expected to, don’t be surprised if Maryam Dauda becomes one of the defining names in college basketball next season. Because while others were taking days off, she was building a legacy.

No days off. No shortcuts. Just work. And in that work, Maryam Dauda is finding her greatness.