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 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.
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.
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.
A lot of people notice when you succeed, but they don't see what it takes to get there.
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.
Things didn't quite work out like we wanted them too, but... we still have you, and you still have us.
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.