"I needed to learn these lessons": $12 Million rich Dawn Staley, who won 3 Olympic golds, credits UVA for success training

South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley has carved out successful careers both as a player and as a coach. As the former, Staley won three Olympic gold medals, two FIBA World Cup gold medals, and was named to the WNBA All-Star team six times. Meanwhile, as a head coach, she has won three national titles for the Gamecocks.

With all of the success she has garnered, the 54-year-old still credits her time at UVA during her college playing days as a training ground to the pros and beyond. In a video uploaded by Virginia Sports TV, she shared her thoughts on the Cavaliers program, reminiscing:

"We're playing at the highest and the biggest stage of all of college women's basketball. I do think UVA set me up to be an Olympian. I look back on my time at UVA, and it was everything I needed." (1:50)

"I needed to be more diversed in friendships. I needed more diversity in my perspective and my thought process. I needed to learn these lessons so I'll be able to navigate the world a lot easier," Dawn Staley then added.

During her time playing for coach Debby Ryan's program, Staley and the roster went to the NCAA Final Four three out of the four seasons she was in college — leading them in points and steals in the process. This included a finals championship game, where the success she was able to bring to the school earned her No. 24 jersey to be retired by UVA.

Translating the standout college career into esteemed professional and national stints, it can be seen that Ryan and the overall Cavaliers program has helped shape Staley into the well-respected individual she is in women's basketball. Staley currently has a net worth of $12 million (via Celebrity Net Worth). Despite being the current Gamecocks coach, she definitely still has a soft side for the UVA program.

For now, she is aspiring to repeat as national champions, going on an 11-1 record so far in the 2024-25 season with South Carolina. The Gamecocks' next game will be against the Wofford Terriers on Sunday, Dec. 29.

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Dawn Staley says she grew up in an intense community

Dawn Staley playing for UVA - Source: Darr Beiser, Imagn

Before playing for Debby Ryan and the UVA Cavaliers, Staley shared that her experience growing up in north Philadelphia was an intense one — citing how she had to earn all of the opportunities she has had.

"Growing up in north Philly was probably, to most, was a very volatile environment. It wasn't equal opportunity at all. You had to earn everything that you got," Dawn Staley shared. (0:30)

Perhaps with the kind of stability at the highest level she has given the Gamecocks program, Staley is instilling that fortitude she had to develop in her upbringing to her players now and beyond.