Dawn Staley has produced several first-round picks while serving as the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks and one of her success stories is Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston. Staley hasn’t made a name for herself without instilling discipline in his players.
With discipline comes punishment, and Boston revealed one such anecdote where Staley uniquely punished her Gamecocks.
During her conversation with Candace Parker, Boston shared a story from her freshman year when the Gamecocks traveled to St. Thomas and were playing in the Paradise Jam. After losing their first game against Indiana, Staley was “pissed.”
“She was like, you didn’t listen to any of the scouting report. You’re over here contesting three-point shooters,” Boston said.
Boston recalled being outsmarted by Mackenzie Holmes.
“I think that was her freshman year too, maybe,” Boston said. “I don’t remember the entire squad, but I do remember I contested a jumper from Mackenzie Holmes, and she didn’t shoot any jumpers. She went straight by me, and Coach Staley couldn’t believe her eyes.”
Boston revealed how Staley punished the players next day by taking away their ordered sandwiches.
“The next day we were working out, and we had ordered all these sandwiches for after practice before the next game,” Boston said. “We show up and see the staff getting their sandwiches. Everybody’s getting their sandwiches. We’re like, oh, where are our sandwiches? She’s like, no. After the performance y’all had, maybe y’all ate too much. Then she got us these smoothies that were like this big. It was like, this is what you guys get. So she took away our sandwiches.”
Interestingly, that season, the Gamecocks went on to win the national championship without dropping any game further.
Aliyah Boston Thrived With Dawn Staley’s South Carolina
Before being selected first overall by the Fever in the 2023 WNBA draft, Aliyah Boston had an incredible college career with South Carolina under Dawn Staley.
Under Staley, Boston won the 2022 NCAA National Championship. She was named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Staley also won Coach of the Year.
Boston would go on to thrive in the WNBA as well, winning the Rookie of the Year. Boston is one of the examples Staley often cites when discussing growth and leadership.
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