South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley is the best male or female Gamecock basketball coach. After building a power plant in Columbia, could professional teams begin to target it for coaching roles?
Gamecocks women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley took the South Carolina program to the pinnacle of its success, reaching the pinnacle of the sport in 2017 by taking home a national title. With sustained success comes the risk of Staley being hunted by another program. Many thought her alma mater, Virginia, could pose a threat, but she closed it quickly.
So, there is always the possibility of wanting to return to your hometown, Philadelphia. She has trained at Temple, taking the Owls to six NCAA tournaments in eight seasons. Could a team from the Northeast attract her? So far, it has been a resounding no.
But what if she got a call from professionals? Many will automatically think of a return to the WNBA, where she dominated as a player before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, but could she also be a target for NBA teams? At least one journalist thinks so.
Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an article earlier this week calling for the Sixers to interview Staley for his current opening as head coach. And frankly, I can’t understand why she didn’t have the opportunity.
Staley’s background and knowledge of the basketball game is a strong case for her to become the NBA’s first female coach. She played the game at a high level in college, professionally and as an Olympian. Staley is the all-time robbery leader in the NCAA and helped the Cavaliers reach the Final Four for three consecutive seasons as a player. She was also a three-time gold medalist who carried her country’s flag at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games.
As a coach, she has been even more dominant.
Success has followed her from Temple to South Carolina, where she has now won more than 300 games in 12 seasons, culminating in a 32-1 record and ranking first last year. With Gamecocks alone, she won five SEC regular season titles and five SEC tournament titles, achieved nine postseason tournaments (it would have been ten without COVID) and made it to Final Four twice. Success at the NCAA level does not always translate into the professional categories, but sometimes it is.
And for those who think she wouldn’t be able to handle men, as Hayes says in the article, “They don’t know Dawn Staley.” She is intense, fiery and demanding behind the scenes in Columbia, SC, much like Gamecock coach Frank Martin. Your personality requires respect and your achievements in sport require men and women to listen to your teachings. Of course, having Staley leading the Sixers would end immediately for those who are too closed-minded to believe that women have a place in men’s sports.
Fortunately, the NBA has become one of the most progressive leagues in professional sports, with seven women on technical teams in its 30 organizations. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last year that “there is no reason why women shouldn’t coach men’s basketball” and that, in the end, he wanted half of the league’s top 30 coaches to be women.
A league source told Hayes that at least one woman will be considered for the Sixers’ debut. Will Staley get the call? Who knows? But Gamecock fans hope to keep Staley as long as possible. His contract with the university runs until the 2024-25 season. The program should make the most of its time here as much as possible, as it may soon be battling the NBA’s offerings in addition to those of the NCAA and WNBA.