3x NCAA champ Dawn Staley compares WNBA matchup to South Carolina’s practice sessions

After a month-long break, Dawn Staley is back with her comments about the WNBA games on X. On Sunday, the Chicago Sky took on the Las Vegas Aces and coach Staley had two of her former centers, A'ja Wilson and Kamilla Cardoso, face off against each other.

The game proved to be a thrilling and intense one, especially in the final few minutes with back-to-back buckets from A'ja Wilson. Dawn Staley revealed on X that this type of play was typical during South Carolina's practices.

"Side note: yall are getting a bird’s eye view of what our @GamecockWBB practices look like 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️," she wrote.

A'ja Wilson finished with 18 rebounds, three blocks, and 20 points, including the final game-winning shot, to take the 77-75 win.

Wilson spent four years in South Carolina and averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.6 blocks. She led the Gamecocks to a 2017 NCAA championship, South Carolina's first in program history.

They have since won two more, making Dawn Staley the only Black coach in D-I history with three rings.

Kamilla Cardoso spent three years with coach Staley and won two titles in her sophomore and senior years. She averaged 9.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.

---

Dawn Staley shares the recipe for molding great players

Dawn Staley has produced two No. 1 picks and back-to-back top 5 draft picks. Her current roster at South Carolina is considered one of the best in the country. With her reputation of creating the best players, coach Staley shared one important aspect of this process in "The Secret" for Players' Tribune in 2015.

"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 wrote.

"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 further explained.

After the Final Four loss in 2023, Dawn Staley promised her players to lead them to an NCAA championship, and she achieved that along with an undefeated season. Staley's team is predicted to repeat last season's results as she has retained all her players, except Cardoso, from the championship-winning roster.

What do you think of Dawn Staley's coaching legacy? Let us know in the comments section below.