Dear Gamecocks: The pre-game letters that sustain South Carolina on its Final Four journey

New York Times

03-04-2025

On Sunday afternoon, Bree Hall returned to South Carolina's locker room after the first part of her warmup and saw a handwritten note taped to the back wall of her locker.
The note accompanied a picture that was mostly a collage of puzzle pieces outlining the NCAA Tournament's championship trophy. One of the pieces not showing the trophy was of a 3-year-old South Carolina fan whose hair had been braided with beads that spelled out players' names. Another puzzle piece was blank. On the right side of the page were a few sentences hand-written in gold Sharpie to Hall.
Advertisement
The message was exactly what Hall said she needed to hear: 'That I am Bree Hall, and that I am that girl. And I have put in a lot of the work throughout the season to be in this place, and that I have to let things come to me.' It reminded her she was ready and prepared.
Hall, a senior, wasn't alone in receiving a letter of encouragement ahead of top-seeded South Carolina's Elite Eight matchup with Duke. All of her teammates received one, too.
In fact, since mid-January, every time South Carolina players return from warm-ups to the locker room with just under an hour until tipoff, they have found a letter at their locker. The author? South Carolina assistant Mary Wooley.
'I want them to feel seen, valued and cared about,' Wooley said. 'This is something to ground them.'
Wooley began writing letters to each player before South Carolina's first meeting with Texas on Jan. 12. The teams will meet for a fourth time on Friday night in the Final Four.
Capstone is GLOWING GARNET!@GamecockWBB is Final Four bound for the fifth-straight year AND @GamecockSoftbll takes the series against #3 LSU 🤙
IT'S GREAT TO BE A GAMECOCK! pic.twitter.com/SMUVGGRKae
— Gamecock Athletics (@GamecocksOnline) March 30, 2025
The letters are a labor of love. Wooley, who returned to South Carolina before the 2022 season after a prior stint with the program from 2017 to 2020, tries to begin writing them the night before a game. She said it takes her around two hours. Sometimes, a player's note takes five to 10 minutes to write. Other times, she'll think about it for days, reflecting on how a player is processing what's happening in the Gamecocks' season, or in their life.
'My goal is to have something personal enough for them to know I'm paying attention to their needs,' she said.
They do.
'She's very attentive to what we need, and it's a really great thing to have before the game,' reserve center Adhel Tac said. Tac is one of many Gamecocks who said they save every note, with the letter piles building in their locker or backpacks.
Advertisement
The tradition began in January after South Carolina's coaches received feedback from a pair of leadership coaches, Felicia and Johnny Hall Allen, that players wanted more inspiration and motivation from the Gamecocks' staff. Wooley, who has degrees in psychology, processed the suggestion and felt writing letters was a way to impact each player. While time-consuming, she recognized the power in something hand-written, especially amid the ebbs and flows of a season.
Wooley admitted she isn't overly vocal, and notes are a common way she connects with people she cares about. She writes her 9-year-old son a letter every week.
'With my friends and family, it's the way that I express my heart,' Wooley said. 'I felt like I could do that for them and if it was something that they needed then I was willing to put extra effort into that.'
She did something similar once as an assistant at Hawaii, where she worked from 2012 to 2016, but those notes were shorter. Plus, they focused on basketball. Her notes to South Carolina's players have nothing to do with a scouting report or a player's shooting form. Instead, they're personal.
'It's a really good reminder going into games. It's very heartfelt,' Hall said. 'It's just a confidence booster and a reminder of who you are and what you bring to the team.'
Said Wooley: 'I just think about what the moment needs, and then I try and think about what each individual in that moment needs.'
The letters speak to a season-long theme or specific game-day message. Wooley said she has amateur experience creating graphics for recruiting mailouts and her expertise comes in handy here, too.
One batch of gameday letters involved digging up pictures of South Carolina players as kids. That not only made this year's group laugh, but tied back to that day's message: Play for that little girl watching, who's still inside of them.
Advertisement
'It made me really realize that I am making my younger self proud,' Hall said. 'Sometimes I feel like we get stuck in the right now. My younger self would be absolutely blown away that I am where I am right now and doing so well.'
Another note was a picture of each player from when they committed to the Gamecocks. A few letters had the word 'uncommon' at the top, a reference to the theme of this year's team.
When the Gamecocks played UConn in February, Wooley placed a photo at the top of the page in which South Carolina players had linked hands. Overlaying the image was the phrase '13 as 1,' a reminder of the Gamecocks coming together. Throughout the NCAA Tournament, Wooley has utilized a puzzle motif. The defending champions are looking to complete the picture this weekend.
THE GAMECOCKS ARE HEADED TO TAMPA!! pic.twitter.com/M4h1vEC6nI
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) March 30, 2025
Like any writer (or coach), a setting can serve as inspiration. Wooley will compose on trains, planes and buses. South Carolina junior forward Ashlyn Watkins once saw Wooley writing a letter at a trampoline park in Columbia while her son was playing.
'These young ladies are growing and evolving,' Wooley said. 'Because what each moment requires, what each opponent requires, there's always new material.'
Wooley owns practically every part of the process, with two exceptions. One of South Carolina's administrators helps her cut paper to the margins she wants. Team managers or a graduate assistant tape them to lockers. Wooley wants to remove herself from the moment when players read and process her messages. Players usually keep what she writes to themselves.
Wooley doesn't begin the letters with 'dear' or sign them with her name. No pleasantries are needed. By her second batch of letters, players realized she was the author. 'I'm speaking directly to their hearts,' she said.
Advertisement
Sunday's message about Duke broadly reminded the Gamecocks that they have succeeded through countless tests this season. On Wednesday evening, Wooley provided a brief preview of what Friday's letters will say. There will again be puzzle pieces, and the script will be written in silver Sharpie. In addition to personal messages, Wooley will remind players that they know what they're capable of. To focus on what they know to be true.
Like film study of the Longhorns, the notes are just part of her Final Four prep work.
'At the end of the day, it's really easy and important to tell people that you love them,' Wooley said. 'I appreciate knowing that at the end of the day, if just one of them at any given time has one token they can take with them, then I think I've done what I'm supposed to do.'
(Photo of Bree Hall: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)