Do South Carolina players think they could take on Dawn Staley 1-on-1?
The South Carolina women’s basketball team think about whether or not they could take on their coach, Dawn Staley, in her prime, 1-on-1.
Sports Seriously
Over Dawn Staley’s 18 seasons at South Carolina women’s basketball, she has emerged as one of the titans of women’s college basketball while transforming the Gamecocks from a middling program into a three-time national champion that’s one of the ubiquitous national powers in the sport.
During that time, she has attracted attention not only for her 510 wins, but also for her standing as perhaps the most stylish coach at any level of basketball, men’s or women’s, in the country, whether it’s rocking Gucci or a jersey of one of her beloved Philadelphia sports teams.
Her sideline attire isn’t limited to clothes.
With South Carolina yet again in the Final Four — this time, competing against reigning national champion UConn on Friday, April 3 in Phoenix — Staley is wearing beaded necklaces, including a pair that spell out her first name with basketballs in between the letters.
The jewelry is more than just a sartorial choice. Staley wears the necklaces in honor of Blakeleigh Thompson, an 8-year-old girl enduring a fight with leukemia.
The two first met in 2023, when Staley was visiting UVA Children’s Hospital at the University of Virginia, Staley’s alma mater. Two years later, Thompson got to see Staley coach in person for the first time at the 2025 Final Four, when the Gamecocks beat Texas in the national semifinals.
Staley, who wears the beads every game, had previously spoken about the bond she and Thompson had forged and what it meant to her, noting that it “gives me perspective.”
“Blakeleigh, you would have never known what she was going through,” Staley said during an appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in March 2024. “As an adult, I know what she’s going through. I know what her family was going through. I just feel forever indebted that they allowed me a small part of their life, which changed my life. I mean, I’m going to wear this until the beads fall off.”
