Dawn Staley has accomplished nearly everything she can in the world of women’s basketball.
The South Carolina Gamecocks head coach has won the NCAA Tournament title three times in her career. She’s been to the Final Four seven times, including five straight seasons, and has won the Naismith Coach of the Year four times.
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That’s just the start of the list, and that’s just her current tenure at South Carolina. Before that, she was an elite point guard at the University of Virginia, and a first round draft pick by the Charlotte Sting. After, and even during the latter part of her playing career, she became a head coach in 2000. She now has 647 career wins as a head coach.
She continues to get recognized for her greatness, and on Monday, South Carolina Women’s Basketball announced some big news involving Staley.
The news left one of her former star players speechless. A’ja Wilson, who starred with the Gamecocks from 2014 to 2018, shared the news with her fans on social media.
A’ja Wilson, InstagramA’ja Wilson, Instagram
Wilson played 138 games at South Carolina, averaging 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament in 2017, when the Gamecocks cut down the nets. She was later selected as the top overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft by Las Vegas.
South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley (left) and former South Carolina forward A’ja Wilson (right).Sara Diggins, Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Staley also served as the head coach for Team USA, leading them to gold medals at the 2018 World Cup in Spain and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She is a member of both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
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The statue will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 30.
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Related: Dawn Staley Makes Major Personal Announcement on Wednesday
