Dawn Staley is known for her winning ways and her intensity on the court. No one knows this better than her former South Carolina players, who have a story or two to share about Staley’s coaching and development tactics.
In a sit-down interview posted by the Indiana Fever on Wednesday, the Gamecocks trio of Aliyah Boston, Ty Harris, and Raven Johnson opened up about their time with Staley. At one point, Boston poked fun at Johnson for supposedly receiving warmer treatment from Staley than previous generations of South Carolina players.
“We couldn’t even have social media…And Raven was on FaceTime with her [Staley] going into the game the other day. When do you ever call Coach on FaceTime to walk into a game?”
Johnson groaned as if to protest the accusation that she was more favored by Staley.
Boston and Harris had a blast chiding Johnson, but it wasn’t just the rookie who enjoyed massive success under Staley’s tutelage. During Harris’ final year in South Carolina, she won the aptly named Dawn Staley Award in recognition of her exemplary guard skills in Division I basketball.
As for Boston, she led the Gamecocks to the 2022 national title and was named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Johnson played just two games that season before going down with a major knee injury, but she would later get her college career back on track. In 2024, Johnson won her second NCAA championship under Staley’s watch.
“You About That Philly Life”: Dawn Staley Campaigns for LeBron James to Land With Sixers
Dawn Staley happens to be a proud Philadelphia native. Amid the free-agent frenzy taking over the NBA, Staley decided to try to recruit LeBron James, who has yet to announce his landing spot after leaving the LA Lakers.
“Lawd….@KingJames you about that Philly life?!! @sixers,” staley tweeted.
Insider Tony Jones reported that the Sixers have reached out to the four-time NBA champion. Acquiring James would be the Sixers’ second blockbuster deal this offseason, following the Jaylen Brown trade for Paul George and four draft picks.
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