South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley once had one of her former players recognize her signature sneaker as a symbol of excellence. On Feb. 4 this year, an article was published by Aaron Dodson of Andscape. It featured current Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson and covered her debut signature shoe, the Nike A’One.
In the feature, Wilson shared a story in which she found out about her former coach Staley’s previous signature sneaker with Nike. Back in her sophomore year, Wilson said it was only then that she learned that Staley had her own shoe with the same brand, which she still displays on the Gamecocks’ campus. When she was still playing professional basketball in 1999, Staley signed with Nike and debuted the Nike Air Zoom S5.
“I’m always gonna have that case to show people, especially recruits, like, ‘Hey, this shoe is mine. This is what I wore. This is what Nike gave me during my playing days.’ And people have an appreciation for them,” Staley was quoted as saying.
Wilson then shared her reaction when she first saw Coach Staley’s shoe on display.
“I realized Coach Staley had a signature shoe my sophomore year at South Carolina. She actually had the silhouette in a case in her office. I remember walking in, like, ‘Is this yours?’ And she was like, ‘My logo is on it, isn’t it?’ I was like, ‘You’re right. That is your shoe.’ It’s been really dope to see how long she’s been changing the game of women’s basketball, even with a signature shoe,” Wilson said.
Wilson is currently in her eighth season in the WNBA, all of which have been spent with the Aces. Much to the delight of Staley and the South Carolina faithful, Wilson has since become a three-time regular-season MVP, a two-time WNBA champion, and a four-time member of the All-WNBA First Team.
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When Dawn Staley said A’ja Wilson’s shoe would resonate with everyone in the basketball world
In the same article, a quote by coach Dawn Staley from a 2021 interview, also with Andscape, was included.
She had claimed that A’ja Wilson’s signature shoe would be heavily favored by basketball enthusiasts everywhere. The Nike A’One was released on May 29 of this year.
“There’s a market for A’ja Wilson. I think A’ja could definitely pump her own shoe. There would be personality to it. There would be an ability to reach a lot of different people. I don’t even know the population in South Carolina, but certainly everybody would be wearing an A’ja Wilson signature shoe,” Staley said.
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Staley is now heading into the 2025-26 college basketball season with the current crop of South Carolina Gamecocks and is looking to win the program its fourth national title, third in the last five years.
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