"It’s going to hurt, it’s going to be uncomfortable": South Carolina HC Dawn Staley once shared the recipe to being a "great coach" 

Dawn Staley might be the best women's basketball coach in the collegiate circuit. However, she never aspired to lead a basketball unit from the sidelines, but when the opportunity came, her penchant to embrace challenges kicked in, with the 2024-25 season being her silver anniversary.

A big part of Dawn Staley's consistency and success has been her approach towards player development and conditioning. Moreover, as said by Staley for the Players' Tribune in June 2015, it's her knack for keeping her players in check, reminding them of the ultimate goal and the process behind it.

"I have to make these players believe that my vision is good for them. It’s going to hurt; it’s going to be uncomfortable, but it’s good for you," Dawn Staley quipped in her memoir.

"Everybody gets the same treatment. Whether they have WNBA potential or not, we focus on their mental development as well as physical. Basketball IQ, conditioning, court vision, fundamentals, decision-making, we push them to push themselves," she elaborated

Staley believes in sparking professional conversations when she notices a youngster's potential to make it big. Not only does it help in a player's confidence and team's success, but it also helps impart disciplinary values by example.

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Dawn Staley believes connection is the key in a coaching playbook

Dawn Staley began coaching in 2000 with Temple University. Due to her parallel playing time in the WNBA (until 2006), she could cultivate an immediate bond with her players and foster them to put her squad in the best situation possible.

However, as she nears two decades since retiring as a professional hooper, as it gets harder every year for Dawn Staley to be relevant to young players. Nevertheless, Staley still vouches the necessity of connection for a successful coaching role.

"Fifteen years ago, it was instant — I could make an immediate connection with a player in no time at all. Five years go by, and it gets harder.

"Now, 15 years later … it’s a good thing I like challenges. My goal is always to decrease the amount of time it takes for us to make a connection because that’s where it all starts. If there were ever a secret to being a great coach, that’s it: the connection," she wrote.

Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks mounted a record-setting undefeated season last year, with the active participation of the entire roster, unlike top teams that rely heavily on star players.