Dawn Michelle Staley, an accomplished former American basketball player and coach, was born on May 4, 1970. She is presently the South Carolina Gamecocks head coach. In addition to earning three Olympic gold medals while competing for Squad USA, Staley coached another American squad to win a gold medal. Staley was picked to carry the American flag at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in honour of her tremendous accomplishments.
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Dawn Michelle Staley |
| Birthdate | May 4, 1970 |
| Birthplace | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Position | Point guard |
| College | University of Virginia |
| College career | ACC Female Athlete of the Year (1991, 1992); NCAA record for career steals (454) |
| Professional career | France, Italy, Brazil, Spain, ABL, WNBA |
| National team career | USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team (1989); World University Games gold medalist (1991); World Championships gold medalist (1994, 1998); Atlanta Olympics gold medalist (1996); Athens Olympics gold medalist (2004) |
| Coaching career | Temple University (2000-2008), University of South Carolina (2008-present) |
| Coaching achievements | NCAA champion (2017); Naismith College Coach of the Year (2017); three-time SEC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2022) |
| Awards | Two-time Naismith College Player of the Year (1991, 1992); USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year (1994); FIBA World Championships All-Tournament Team (1998); Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame inductee (2009); Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2012); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2013) |
| Miscellaneous | Staley’s number 24 is retired by the University of Virginia. She also served as an assistant coach for the USA Women’s National Team at the London Olympics in 2012 and the Rio Olympics in 2016. |
Dawn Michelle Staley earned a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics while playing point guard for the University of Virginia. She then played professionally in the WNBA and the American Basketball League, where she was recognised as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induct Staley.
She has coached the Temple University Owls and is now the South Carolina Gamecocks head coach. Six SEC regular season titles, six SEC tournament titles, and two NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championships were all won during her coaching. A gold medal at the 2020 Olympics was won by Staley while leading the USA women’s national team.
The University of Virginia was guided by Dawn Michelle Staley to four NCAA Tournaments, three Final Fours, and one National Championship game. She was named the ACC Female Athlete of the Year in addition to winning the national player of the Year award in 1991 and 1992. Although those marks have since been surpassed, Staley concluded her undergraduate career as the ACC’s and the school’s all-time leader in assists. Before playing for the ABL and WNBA, she was a professional basketball player in a number of different nations. Staley also competed for the Women’s Junior National Team of USA Basketball, where she averaged 10.8 points and 14 steals per game.
Staley played for the United States basketball team throughout her career. In 1991, she was part of the team that won the gold medal at the World University Games. In 1992, Staley was on the Jones Cup team that won gold in Taipei. She competed in the World Championships in 1994, and in 1996 led the team to an undefeated record and gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. Staley was also on the 2000 Olympic team that defended the gold medal. She was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 1994 and 2004.
Despite the fact that she tweeted about herself and Lisa Boyer, a South Carolina associate coach, acting like an old married couple, there have reportedly been rumours of their romantic relationship for some time. Even so, they are not legally wed.
The women’s basketball team for the South Carolina Gamecocks is coached by Lisa Boyer as the associate head coach. While serving as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002, she made history by being the first female coach in the NBA. Boyer has had head coaching jobs with the Bradley Braves and Philadelphia Rage over his lengthy coaching career. 2014 saw her enshrined in the Ithaca College Athletics Hall of Fame.
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