Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley

Guard
Born	(1970-05-04) May 4, 1970 (age 43) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	134 lb (61 kg)
College	University of Virginia
Draft	9th overall, 1999 Charlotte Sting
WNBA career	1999–2006
Profile	WNBA player profile
WNBA Teams
Charlotte Sting (1999–2005) Houston Comets (2005–2006)
Awards and Honors
6× WNBA All-Star (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) In 2005, named the recipient of the Woman One Award for community and public service and a runner- up for the first-annual Wooden Cup Award, named after John Wooden.
Medal record Women’s Basketball Competitor for  United States Olympic Games Gold Atlanta 1996 United States Gold Sydney 2000 United States Gold Athens 2004 United States

Dawn Staley

Medal record
Women’s Basketball
Assistant Coach for  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	2008 Beijing, China	Team Competition
Head Coach for  United States
Pan American Games
Gold	2007 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Team Competition
Assistant Coach for  United States
FIBA World Championship for Women
Bronze	2006 Barueri and Sao Paulo, Brazil	Team Competition

_________________

Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball 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. She was named the University of South Carolina women's head basketball coach on May 7, 2008. After 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 one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.

Playing career [edit]

High school years [edit]

Staley was named the national high school player of the year during her final season at Dobbins Tech High School in Philadelphia.

College years [edit]

Staley attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. During her four seasons in college, she led her team to four NCAA Tournaments, three Final Fours and one National Championship game. She was named the ACC female athlete of the year and the national player of the year in 1991 and 1992. Staley finished her college career with 2,135 points and holds the NCAA record for career steals with 454. She finished her career at Virginia as the school's all-time scoring leader and as the ACC's all-time leader in assists at 729, but those records have since been broken by former UVA stars Monica Wright and Sharnee Zoll, respectively. Her number 24 is retired at UVA. Staley competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 1992 Jones Cup Team that won the Gold in Taipei.^[1]

In 1994-5, after graduation, Staley played professional basketball in France in Tarbes, Italy, Brazil, and Spain before joining the ABL and then the WNBA.

ABL [edit]

In 1996, she joined the Richmond Rage of the American Basketball League (ABL) and led the team to the ABL finals in 1997. The following season, the team moved to Staley's hometown of Philadelphia.

WNBA [edit]

In the 1999 WNBA Draft, Staley was selected with the ninth overall pick by the Charlotte Sting. In 2001, she led the Sting to the Championship game of the WNBA playoffs.

On August 1, 2005, Staley was traded to the Houston Comets. Staley announced before the start of the WNBA season that she would be retiring after the Comets season was over. The Comets made the playoffs and faced the Sacramento Monarchs in the first round. The Monarchs swept the Comets and won the series 2–0, ending Staley's career. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA.^[2]

Team USA [edit]

Staley played for Team USA throughout her career. In 1994 she competed in the World Championships and was named the USA basketball Female Athlete of the Year. She led the 1996 team to an undefeated record of 60–0 and the gold medal at the Olympic games in Atlanta. She was also a member of the 2000 Olympic team that defended the gold medal.

She won a third gold medal with Team USA at the 2004 Games in Athens. Her Olympic performance lead to her being named 2004 USA Basketball Female Athlete Of The Year at the end of the year. Before the Games, she was selected to carry the flag of the United States during the parade of nations at the opening ceremony.

USA Basketball as coach [edit]

Dawn Staley served as an assistant coach for the USA National team in 2006, a team in transition. Lisa Leslie, who had led the team in scoring in the 2004 Olympics, the 2002 World Championships, the 2000 Olympics, the 1998 World Championships, and the 1996 Olympics was no longer on the team. Sheryl Swoopes was available but hampered by injuries, with Staley transitioning from player to coach. Newcomers Sue Bird, Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi picked up the slack, but it was a team in transition. As an additional challenge, some members of the squad were unable to join the team for practices due to WNBA commitments. The team started out strong, winning each of the six preliminary games, including the game against Russia. In the quarterfinals, the USA team beat Spain 90–56. The semifinal was a rematch against Russia, but this time the Russian team prevailed, 75–68. The USA faced Brazil in the bronze medal game, and won easily 99–59.^[3]

WNBA career statistics [edit]

Regular season [edit]

Playoffs [edit]

Coaching career [edit]

After the 1999–2000 college basketball season, Temple University named Staley the head coach of its women's basketball program. In her first season, 2000–01, Temple University advanced to the WNIT. In 2001, 2002, and 2004, her teams won the Atlantic 10 tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

In 2004–05 season, Staley's Owls went 28–4 on the year, including a perfect 19–0 against Atlantic 10 opponents. However, they lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Rutgers. Staley reached the 100 win plateau in the A-10 Semifinals vs Xavier that season, becoming the fastest coach in women's basketball to achieve that.

On May 7, 2008, it was confirmed by Temple University that Staley would leave Temple for the recently vacated coaching position at the University of South Carolina. She left Temple with the best overall record of 172–80, along with six NCAA appearances and four Atlantic 10 titles.

During the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Staley served as an assistant coach under Team USA head coach Anne Donovan and helped the Americans win their fourth straight gold medal in women's basketball and sixth in their past seven Olympic appearances.

Head coaching record [edit]

Personal life [edit]

Staley now heads the Dawn Staley Foundation, which gives middle-school children a positive influence in their lives by sponsoring an after-school program at the Hank Gathers Recreation Center. The Center focuses on academics and athletics and sponsors basketball leagues and other fund-raising activities. She is also currently writing a four-book series loosely based on her childhood.

• Gave her 1996 Olympic gold medal to her mother, Estelle, whom she cites as the biggest influence in her life.

• In 1996, she appeared in an episode of Martin (TV series), along with other members of the 1996 USA Basketball Women's Team: Rebecca Lobo, Sheryl Swoopes, and Teresa Edwards.

• July 24, 2004 was proclaimed Dawn Staley Day in Charlotte by Mayor Pat McCrory.

In 2006, Staley and other individuals became prominent investors in a Foxwoods slots casino proposed for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[4] In September 2008, facing massive opposition at the originally proposed waterfront location, backers for the slots casino decided to seek a new location in the Center City area, next to Philadelphia's Chinatown community.^[5] As of January, 2009, the casino still does not have a building permit.

See also [edit]

	Biography portal
	Philadelphia portal

• Lisa Leslie
• Sheryl Swoopes
• Rebecca Lobo

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Dawn Staley at WNBA.com

Olympic Games
Preceded by Cliff Meidl	Flagbearer for  United States Athens 2004	Succeeded by Lopez Lomong
Awards
Preceded by Shannon Higgins	ACC Female Athlete of the Year 1991–1992	Succeeded by Mia Hamm

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