NCAAB insider Jeff Goodman tosses alum Dawn Staley's name out for coaching at Virginia
South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley mentoring a college basketball squad is a possibility, thanks to her successful coaching career with the Gamecocks, where she has won three titles, including a perfect 38-0 record last season.
However, one NCAA basketball insider mentioned the female tactician as a possible candidate for her alma mater, Virginia, as a full-time replacement for coach Tony Bennett.
According to The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman, an unidentified source told him that Staley, who graduated from Virginia in 1992, could be one of the candidates for the Cavaliers' full-time coaching job.
"I have a great name that I'm not sure it's been mentioned. It was thrown at me by somebody just recently—I'm not going to say who—but it's intriguing. Do you know who graduated from Virginia in 1992?" Goodman asked Robbie Hummel before mentioning Dawn Staley (via The Field of 68).
Goodman elaborated that Dawn Staley could be that person to replace former NCAA champion coach Bennett as she has been winning a lot of games and championships lately. But Hummel questioned whether the former WNBA star would want to leave South Carolina after building a dynasty there.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley recalls how Gamecocks secured Joyce Edwards' commitment
Dawn Staley was very much involved in the recruitment of five-star Class of 2024 forward Joyce Edwards. According to the three-time women's basketball champion coach, Edwards' parents, who were engineers, were convinced by the coaching staff's plan for their daughter.
Edwards, who planned to pursue a degree in environmental engineering and sustainability issues, was offered a course designed by South Carolina's Build Your Own Major program. It has strict standards for students at the honors college and the 6-foot-3 freshman had a 5.1 GPA in high school, according to her prep coach.
"You have someone like a Joyce Edwards who loves South Carolina basketball, but had parents who were engineers," Staley said during panel discussions at the SustainSC conference on Thursday.
“They knew what type of education they wanted their child to have and they weren’t going to settle (for less). That was a non-negotiable when it came to what kind of education Joyce would get," she added.
Edwards, whose interest in the climate change topic dates back to her childhood days, pointed out that she plans to use her status as a basketball player to raise further awareness about the issue.
Those leadership qualities convinced Staley and Mary Wooley, a Staley assistant and recruiting director for women’s basketball, that they had picked the right player that would help the Gamecocks successfully defend the national title.
Edwards showed her worth as a five-star player, tallying 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead South Carolina in administering a 43-point beatdown of Memphis in an exhibition game. She will have her first taste of non-conference regular season on Nov. 4 as the No. 1 Gamecocks meet Michigan in the Hall of Fame Series at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.