Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston has shared her thoughts and presumably debunked any misconceptions about how it truly was to play for Dawn Staley.
On Monday, March 30, @togethxr on Instagram uploaded a clip from Boston’s guest interview on WNBA legend Sue Bird’s “Birds Eye View” podcast, wherein she talked about her experience in both college and professional basketball.
Bird asked Boston to share what it was like to play for Staley during her playing days with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Boston asserted that Staley is a tremendously simple coach, and all that she wants is for her players to always improve and go the extra mile during practice sessions. Along with this, Boston said Staley knows how to hype her players up.
“ I love it. You know, I’ve talked to people, and they’re like, ‘Coach Staley, I feel like, is she like super strict? Is she super hard?’ I’m like, ‘Guys, coach Staley is so simple. All she wants you to do is do what you need to do. And that’s come in, and when you’re on the court for the three hours, give it everything you have, like be focused, be locked in. But she’s also that coach that like knows exactly what to say to get under your skin,” Boston said.
Before becoming one of the rising young stalwarts in the league, Boston played all four of her college basketball seasons under Staley and her South Carolina-based program. Together, Boston and Staley spearheaded the Gamecocks to the 2022 national title, which was the former’s lone NCAA championship. Boston was then chosen with the first overall pick in the first round of the 2023 WNBA Draft, much to the delight of Staley.
Aliyah Boston Shares A Story Of How Dawn Staley Pushes Her To Be Better
On the same podcast, Aliyah Boston shared a story about how Dawn Staley pushes her to improve by getting under her skin. Boston detailed that she does this to her players to help them develop their skillsets, as she affirmed that the tenured tactician always knows what to say, no matter who you are. The WNBA standout also mentioned that her parents were confused by the method at first.
“We had one time in The Bahamas where I think I ended the game literally with a double-double. We won. And after the game, she was like, ‘You need to be better like you are you are awful. You’re not gonna, like, if you’re gonna be playing this way, then you’re not gonna help us win anything.’ And I was like, I remember finishing out of the team meeting and I went straight to my parents ’cause they were there,” Boston shared (0:27).
“And I was like, ‘Y’all don’t even know what coach Staley just said to me. I was like, ‘I’m so irritated.’ I’m like, ‘Why would she say that?’ And then after I left, coach Staley literally came up to my parents and was like, ‘I want y’all to know. I just said a whole bunch of stuff to Aliyah and she’s probably gonna be so pissed, but I just want you to know that.’ And so my parents, they didn’t tell me that ’til like completely after the fact, but I was like, she knew exactly what to say to like turn it up,” she continued.
Read More: After Dawn Staley’s Comment on SEC Tournament Loss, Candace Parker And Aliyah Boston Compare Pat Summitt And South Carolina HC
Also Read: Dawn Staley Can’t Stop Raving About Aliyah Boston For Showing Out in Record Breaking Unrivaled Game
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