Women's basketball coach content with future at Carolina
Thomas Wolfe once wrote, “You can’t go home again.”
Dawn Staley isn’t even going to try to prove the heralded author wrong.
South Carolina’s third-year women’s basketball coach announced there will be a fourth on Wednesday, putting to bed rumors she would leave Columbia to accept the head coaching position at Virginia, her alma mater.
“A lot of people have been talking about me going to Virginia since [head coach] Debbie Ryan stepped down, and I understand that,” said Staley in a release. “It’s my alma mater, where I was really shaped as a person, so it’s a natural conversation to have. In the end, Virginia is going in a different direction, and I’m staying at the University of South Carolina because I truly believe we have a bright future here.”
Staley was contacted by UVA, which received permission from South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman to speak with her. The two parties spoke this weekend about the vacancy. The talks were widely expected to occur, considering Staley’s significance to the Virginia program. Staley helped lead the Cavaliers to three straight Final Fours from 1990 to 1992 as the team’s point guard.
It’s not clear if she was ever formally offered the position. It is believed Staley could have had the job if she wanted it.
However, she didn’t, opting instead to stay at USC.
“The more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want to leave because of the direction we have this program going,” Staley said. “The players we have coming in next year are going to help us grow even more, and the groundwork our coaching staff is laying with future classes has been outstanding.”
The Lady Gamecocks finished 18-15 this year, the first winning season under Staley, and advanced to the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. USC has increased its win total, both overall and in SEC play, every year under Staley. The team just missed securing a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament this year.
There has been some turmoil for the program under Staley, including the transfers of two major recruits, center Kelsey Bone and forward Kayla Brewer, but the future appears bright for USC. Staley will return all but two players from this year’s rotation next season and has several top-ranked recruits either arriving as freshmen or committed to future classes.
“We feel like we have a gold mine here, and I’m confident our best days at South Carolina are ahead of us,” Staley said.
Staley has two years remaining on a five-year contract, which pays her in excess of $600,000 a year. That figure reportedly has her as the second-highest paid women’s coach in the SEC behind Tennessee’s Pat Summitt.