South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been having a grand old time after leading the Gamecocks to an undefeated season, winning her third national championship in the process.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and the families of SC players
A clip of the outspoken coach speaking to parents and recruits during an official visit to South Carolina about the mistakes that they made with student-athletes recently resurfaced.
“I’m very different than your parents because your parents don’t want you to fail and they don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” Staley said. “They do everything in their power to make sure you don’t feel the pain that they felt growing up. It’s probably their biggest mistake because they’re gonna fail.
“I tell them ‘I love you enough to allow you to fail’ I do. I love you enough to allow you to hurt, I love you enough to allow you to have a bad game, a bad month or even a bad season. Because if you’re trying to get to the next level, you’re going to have those days.”
The Dawn Staley effect in recruitment
Dawn Staley had a legendary career in college basketball and in the WNBA, making her one of the legends of the game. She added to her mystique as a legendary coach by winning three national championships as well.
So, when she calls, recruits listen. This is exactly what happened to Gamecocks star Te-Hina Paopao. She was seeking a move from the Oregon Ducks last year after missing out on March Madness and had entered the transfer portal.
With a move to the TCU Horned Frogs imminent, Staley stepped in at the last minute with a golden pitch.
Paopao recalled to The Athletic how she reacted when she was told that the revered Gamecocks coach wanted to call her while she was driving to school.
“South Carolina? South Carolina? Dawn Staley? The best program in the nation wants to hit me up? Absolutely give them my number. You can tell them to call me right now. I couldn’t believe that I was on the phone with Dawn,” Paopao said. “Dawn Staley of all people.”
The South Carolina Gamecocks have produced several players who have gone pro in the WNBA, including A’ja Wilson, the 2014 WNBA draft No. 1 pick. Most recently, Kamila Cardos was picked at No. 4 in the just-concluded draft.
Atlanta Dream forward Laeticia Amihere also got the Dawn Staley experience when she was being recruited on her official visit. The South Carolina coach treated her and her family to jollof rice and plantains in a nod to her African heritage.
“When you go away from home, it’s kind of hard to get that homey feeling, whether it’s food or even the people,” Amihere said about Staley’s recruitment. “(It was) just a lot of stuff that my mom cooks, so I was definitely very happy.”
With a 109-3 record over the past three years, coach Dawn Staley is already a college basketball legend with a winning machine under her tutelage, but her recruitment touch means that she will always have dibs on the highest-rated recruits as well.
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