"I call Tiff my first born": Dawn Staley reflects on her deep bond with Tiffany Mitchell as ex-Gamecocks star joins USC Hall of Fame
Dawn Staley has created quite a legacy throughout her time as head coach of the South Carolina women's basketball team and that legacy saw another one of her players get inducted into the university's Hall of Fame in Tiffany Mitchell.
Staley celebrated the moment when the South Carolina Letterman's Hall of Fame honored Mitchell and Jocelyn Penn during halftime of South Carolina's football game against Texas A&M on Nov. 2.
Mitchell reunited with her former head coach in a video Mitchell's WNBA team, the Connecticut Sun, posted on Instagram that showed the two talking about the impact they had on one another following Mitchell's induction.
"I call Tiff my first born because it wasn't a popular choice to come to South Carolina, and Tiffany and her mom just saw something different for us. What we saw was just a person who is extremely loyal, a person that was driven, a person that was highly motivated," Staley said.
"For us, we were cut from the same cloth, and for her to commit to us, we wanted to make sure we just poured all into her, and she poured into us, and in return, she's got a Hall of Fame career, but I think she legitimized us because of her decision to come here."
Mitchell's career at South Carolina with Staley, time in WNBA
Mitchell spent her collegiate career with the Gamecocks from 2012 to 2016, winning SEC Player of the Year twice in 2014 and 2015. She was also a National Player of the Year finalist three times. She averaged 13.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game over 139 games.
While Mitchell and Staley did not have the fortune of winning a national championship together, something Staley would finally accomplish in 2017 and two more times in 2022 and 2024, the duo made the NCAA Tournament every year and reached the Final Four once in 2015.
Mitchell went on to get drafted by the Indiana Fever with the ninth pick of the 2016 WNBA Draft, having a serviceable career as she just concluded her ninth season in the league. Her most recent campaign saw her average 4.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in 24 games, helping the Connecticut Sun to 28-12 record before losing to the Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals of the WNBA Playoffs.