Dawn Staley recalls benching A’ja Wilson after first game; explains why South Carolina legend is her favorite player she coached
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson is widely regarded as one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time. She is currently in her eighth year in the WNBA, and has amassed several accolades such as two WNBA championships, including a Finals MVP in one of them, and three regular season MVP nods.
Her career, however, was not always celebrated and accomplishment-heavy. A’ja Wilson started her college basketball tenure on a rough note with the South Carolina Gamecocks. In an interview with "The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM" on Thursday, her former coach Dawn Staley shared about the time when she first benched Wilson in her rookie year.
"It took some, at times them thinking, 'Did we make the right decision?,' because she started her first game and then, she was terrible like scrub-like. So, I was like I gotta take you outstarting lineup, but I didn't even tell her that. I told her parents first and her mom, Eva, was like, 'You sure?,'" Staley reminisced. (17:18)
"I'm like, 'You gonna have to trust me on this one, like you just gonna have to trust me.' And, she was like, 'Alright.' But at the end of her freshman year, she was national rookie of the year. She was First Team All-SEC. She was rookie of the year in the SEC, like she got all the accolades coming off the bench," she added.
Staley then spoke about how important it is for coaches to instill belief in their players.
"When someone believes like when someone as a coach and leader and mentor, young people believe in you like they really do. When that's reciprocated, 'cause I believed it. I knew that she was going to be the one that takes us to that next level when you're able to have the same synergy, right," she explained. (18:05)
A’ja Wilson went on to have a phenomenal college hoops career, averaging standout numbers of 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.6 blocks per contest throughout her four years at South Carolina.
Dawn Staley admits that A’ja Wilson was one of her favorite players
In the same interview, Dawn Staley admitted that A’ja Wilson is one of her favorite ever players because the now WNBA superstar believed in her program during a time when no one did.
"Well, I mean here's why, and I know I've coached a lot of great players. Like A'ja was the very first player that was the number one player in the country to decide she wanted to come play for us. And I know it was in her backyard, but we didn't we we didn't look like a national championship team like we never won a national championship," Staley said. (16:17)
"So, for her to trust us with that part of her career meant that she believed in us. She trusted us. She knew that we were going to get her to where she needed to go as far as still being the No. 1 draft pick like four years later. It wasn't just her, it was her entire family that believed in it," she concluded.
Dawn Staley and A’ja Wilson led the South Carolina Gamecocks to the 2017 national title with Wilson as the MVP. It was the Gamecocks program's first-ever national championship in women's basketball.