NOTE: This article was published in the The History of Black Philadelphia Facebook Group
PHILADELPHIA, April 9, 2024 — North Philly’s own Dawn Staley coached the South Carolina Gamecocks to a flawless 38-0 record in the 2023-24 season and won her third national title, knocking off Iowa 87-75 in the Championship Game. The Gamecocks’ perfect season is only the 10th in Division I women’s college basketball history.
A superstar point guard at Dobbins Tech High School, Staley was USA Today’s National High School Player of the Year in 1988. She played college ball at the University of Virginia, where she was a three-time All-American and two-time National Player of the Year. Virginia advanced to three straight Final Fours in her four years. They lost in the semifinals in 1990 and 1992, and fell to Tennessee 70-67 in overtime in the 1991 National Championship Game. Despite the loss, Staley was named Most Outstanding Player.
Staley played professionally for the American Basketball League from 1996-98, before joining the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. In eight years in the WNBA, she was a five-time All-Star. She also played on three gold-medal-winning Olympic teams. In 2013, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Her collegiate coaching career began in 2000 at Temple. The Owls finished 19-11 in her first season, their first winning record in a decade. In her second season, Temple was nationally ranked for the first time ever. Temple advanced to the NCAA Tournament six times in her eight seasons.
South Carolina hired Staley in 2008. In 15 seasons, she has compiled a 440-106 record. The Gamecocks have reached the Final Four six times and won the national championship in 2017, 2022, and 2024. Over the past three seasons, South Carolina has a 109-3 overall record. Staley has been named Naismith Coach of the Year four times.
Staley grew up in the Raymond Rosen Projects near 23rd and Diamond streets and used to play ball at the Moylan (now Hank Gathers) Recreational Center. In 2017, the City of Philadelphia named the two-block stretch of Diamond Street from 23rd to 25th Street “Dawn Staley Lane.”
