Texas finally slipped after holding off South Carolina for five whole weeks. Dawn Staley’s squad had dropped to No.3 in the AP Poll after losing to Texas in late November, but has kept up the pressure since. It finally paid off as the Longhorns went down to LSU, while South Carolina defeated Georgia to come back into the top two. While Staley made a statement on the court, the legendary coach has cleared a fallacy about her as well.
On Carolina Calls, her regular radio show, she was asked what the biggest misconception about her was. After taking a beat, she finally answered, “Well, one of them is I can’t coach.” It’s crazy to think that the coach who has won 13 conference titles, 13 conference tournaments, and 3 NCAA Championships, along with 7 final four berths, gets this kind of criticism.
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But it is true, the narrative ranges from always coaching strong players at South Carolina to her physical athleticism-dependent brand of basketball. Some feel Staley can’t develop and recruit players like some other coaches do. To the critics, the success is mainly due to the exceptional players at Temple and South Carolina rather than Staley’s work behind the scenes. However, to Staley, it doesn’t matter too much as long as the players are satisfied.
“I really don’t get insulted when people say I can’t coach, I can’t make adjustments, I can’t do that. I really don’t get insulted by that because I think my players are happy.”
Few players have a poor dynamic with Dawn Staley. Away from the drawing board and the tactics, she leans into forming a relationship with her squad. “She loves on them hard,” associate head coach Lisa Boyer said last year. “She’s playful with them, she’s hugging them, she’s there for them. I think they sense the fairness. I think they sense the genuineness of her. She speaks to them — it’s not some fairy tale. She’s telling them the deal.” The players love it as well as many of her alumni, who actively credit Staley for their success.
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“She is just so amazing,” Boston said in February last year. “I feel like I’ve said this so many times that Coach Staley is like a second mom to me.” Boston also revealed how Staley fostered leadership qualities in her, even as a freshman.
“It just goes to show the confidence that she instills in you from such a young age,” she further said. “Like, she is not waiting for senior year or junior year… she’s like, I know you have the voice, I know you have the confidence. You just have to be able to step into that role and embrace it.”
NCAA, College League, USA Womens Basketball: Georgia at South Carolina Feb 26, 2023 Columbia, South Carolina, USA South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley and forward Aliyah Boston 4 pose with the 2023 SEC Regular Season Championship trophy following their win over the Georgia Lady Bulldogs at Colonial Life Arena. Columbia Colonial Life Arena South Carolina USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJeffxBlakex 20230226_anw_ay3_0625
Yes, sometimes her style of basketball and coaching does not work out for some. But that is to be expected in a 25-year career of a coach like Staley. If she fixates on the criticism, it will turn her attention away from what actually matters. Her philosophy is in line with the psychological concept of Self-Determination. She values the intrinsic motivation from real relationships, fairness, and an autonomy-supportive environment rather than external noise. The message further gets amplified when you understand why her 2026 draft class inductee, Jerzy Robinson, chose South Carolina.
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Jerzy Robinson Reveals Why Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Won Over UConn
The 2026 draft class for Staley is already shaping up to be a great one. It’s currently ranked No.6 on On3 and landed a five-star prospect, Jerzy Robinson, in late December. Robinson is ranked No. 5 in ESPN’s Top 100 for the class of 2026. She is the highest-ranked recruit for Staley since Joyce Edwards (No. 3 in the class of 2023).
She is the team’s third 2026 signee, with all three ranking among ESPN’s top 20. Robinson was the final five-star in the class of 2026 to announce her commitment, and the reason was fairly elementary but important. Robinson had plenty of offers from Geno Auriemma’s UConn to Kim Mulkey’s LSU. But Staley and her staff’s grand welcome during her visit in October is what made them stand out from others.
“I think from the jump, it was great. I got in at around midnight. The whole coaching staff showed up. Dawn, [assistant coach Wendale Farrow], everybody showed up,” Robinson told the State. “That stood out to me just from other visits. It was surprising, it’s midnight. … It was by far my best visit.”
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Robinson’s early talks with Staley were not limited to the visit. She attended the football game on October 25 with Staley, current players, and legendary Gamecock and 4-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. With this recruit in the bag,Staley has matched a record even the likes of UConn haven’t. They became just the second program to have signed a top-six recruit in each of the last three classes, along with Southern Cal. She has broken the critique that Dawn Staley doesn’t recruit, something we discussed earlier.
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