Dawn Staley has had a pretty successful stint at South Carolina. Since her arrival in 2008, she has lifted the team spirit and improved the game quality. In over 17 years with the Gamecocks, Staley has won three NCAA championships in 2017, 2022, and 2024. Moreover, she has nurtured some of the best talents in both WNBA and college basketball history.
Over the years, Staley has often been tipped to go to the next level of coaching, including the WNBA and NBA. The New York Knicks’ management was in search of Tom Thibodeau’s replacement, and Staley emerged as a qualified candidate. During a recent appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast, Dawn Staley revealed the inside scoop behind her interview with the New York Knicks.
“I’ve known Leon and Worldwide West for 30 years. Like, uh Leon called me and I’m like, ‘What’s up, Leon?’ This is how he was like, ‘Hey, you know, I’m thinking about, you know, I want to bring you in the interview.’ I’m like, ‘Come on, Leon. Stop.’ He’s like, ‘No, I’m serious. I’m serious. I’m serious.’ So, I had to go to New York for something. And I told him, ‘Hey, I’m going to be in New York.’ He’s like, ‘You know, come to my apartment. Let’s talk a little bit.’ And he was like really serious about it,” Staley said.
“I was like, ‘Well, how did you how did you come to put me on your list?’ And he showed me the book. He showed me the list of coaches. He just said, ‘Basically, you have what we need. You’re collaborative with people like we need that in the front office. We need that we need our basketball in our front office, you know, to have to be integrated and work collaboratively.’ So then we set up a meeting to do the interview,” she shared.
“Did the interview was six hours. It was whiteboard. It was just talking and how you get players to to um to to play at a high level and and I and I actually asked them some questions and I thought the questions that I asked them um they they really didn’t know the answers because it’s not a normal question for them,” she concluded.
She opined that being a black woman at the helm of an NBA team would bring in some tough questions. She said that if she loses even three games, the pressure on her would be more than it would be on a male coach.
Dawn Staley Talks About Transfer Portal
On the same podcast, Dawn Staley gave her honest opinion about the transfer portal’s impact on college basketball. She talked about how it has become a family decision and that it is no longer a player’s decision.
She shared how the player and family have to uproot their lives and change lifestyles. Staley revealed that coaches have to deal not only with the students and parents but also with trainers and player agents.
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