$12 million-worth Dawn Staley lauds Coach Yo for building Ole Miss the old fashioned way: "It's s*xy to go to the top, elite programs in the country"

Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team coach Yolett Alessia McPhee-McCuin, also referred to as Coach Yo, received props from rival coach Dawn Staley following their Thursday game. The Rebels were dominated by the Gamecocks, 75-59.

After the game, Staley made sure to compliment Coach Yo for building something special in Ole Miss. After joining the Rebels in 2018-19 season, she's yet to record a losing season since her third year as coach. She has led the school to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and is looking forward to another one, as Ole Miss is 18-8 and 9-5 in the SEC.

When asked if she sees Coach Yo taking Ole Miss to new heights, Dawn Staley, who's worth $12 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), said:

"I think she's well on her way. I think she's making it more popular to come, and that’s where young people are these days. It’s s*xy to go to the top elite programs in the country — whether it’s because of the crowd, home-court advantage, popularity, or being on television a lot.

"But when you do it this way, it sustains itself because you know you’re doing it the old-fashioned way. You get kids to come here and buy in. You get families to come here and buy in — to the good, the bad, and everything it takes to be successful as a program, as an individual, and as a young woman."

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Dawn Staley defended Coach Yo while criticizing an announcer's harsh remarks

Coach Yo drew the ire of announcer Andrew Allegretta, who had called out the Ole Miss coach during the Rebels game Vanderbilt earlier this month.

Coach Yo called a timeout with less than 55.0 seconds remaining on the clock. That's when Allegretta made harsh remarks.

“I say this respectfully,” Allegretta said in a clip from the live stream. “And she’s done an incredible job. She has three consecutive NCAA tournaments.

"I can see why some of Coach Yo would be an acquired taste. It’s a lot of bombastic motions on the sideline and all of that sort of stuff. Working the officials. Timeouts when you’re up by, what, 15 points, all of that sort of stuff.”

Next morning when Dawn Staley heard the comments, she immediately jumped into Coach Yo's defense, writing:

“Woke up this [morning] to this and came back to it because it’s just wrong. A personal attack on one of our(s) is a personal attack on all of us, including who you are broadcasting for.”

Moments like this goes to show the respect Dawn Staley has for her rival coach.