Dawn Staley
Dawn Staley
Dawn Michelle Staley is an American basketball hall of fame player and coach. Staley is a three-time Olympian and was elected to carry the United States flag at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. After playing point guard for the University of Virginia under Debbie Ryan, and winning the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, she went to play professionally in the American Basketball League and the WNBA. In 2011, Staley was voted in by fans as...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth4 May 1970
CityPhiladelphia, PA
We attacked, but we couldn't get anything to fall.
It took her a year and a half to do it, although it could have been just one semester. It's hard. She's from Philadelphia. You've got different people and things pulling at you, but sometimes it takes people just a little longer to achieve something. She's resilient.
They could have handled the trade differently, opened the lines of communication, especially with the amount of time and professionalism that I've given to that organization and to that city, ... It's a business, but I don't have to like it.
They can play in that type of game. Come Monday, the competition is going to be different. It's going to take a little experience, and a little Olympic savvy to win. We shouldn't have had 27 turnovers against New Zealand. You give Australia 27 extra possessions, it's a different outcome.
I told Candice our team is searching for a leader. We are searching for someone to listen to, searching for someone to ride her coattail. It had to be her.
We faced elimination, so we know what it feels like. Seattle doesn't at this point, so it (the pressure) is going to be on them. They're supposed to win.
We have aspirations of becoming a contender for a national championship, but you have to take really small steps and winning the Atlantic 10 championship is one way of taking those steps. But you have to use it and go further and further in the NCAA tournament.
We wanted to use our speed and really pressure the ball and get into the passing lanes. We didn't want to give them any open looks. They can shoot the ball with the best of them if you let them.
Until the trainers clear her, then I can only play the players that are ready to play.
Things didn't quite work out like we wanted them too, but... we still have you, and you still have us.
You can look in every direction and find a competition or an event going on. Even if you're not involved in playing one of the sports being offered, you can find anything you want to do. There's shopping, entertainment, all different types of people ... it's really a great atmosphere.
We were rattled. A team like Rutgers, they play in spurts, and they didn't have a large spurt. We certainly knew we had it in us to get back in the game if we stayed focused.
I like the challenge of getting players to rise to certain levels, but that's the easy part. The biggest challenge is to get them to believe in what we're doing. They have to understand that it's O.K. to have good days and bad days.
A lot of people notice when you succeed, but they don't see what it takes to get there.