Tough task ahead for new USC coach Staley

By Joseph Person - Joseph Person

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COLUMBIA -- When Dawn Staley was Virginia's point guard, Cavaliers coach Debbie Ryan would stack the practice teams against Staley by pairing the All-American with the last four players on the bench.

The idea was to get Virginia's other starters to step up their games.

Staley took the scrimmages as personal challenges.

"She'd look at me and say, 'OK, that's fine,'" Ryan recalled. "She would just take whoever we gave her ... and coach them and have them play to a point where they won every single time. You just couldn't beat her."

Friends and colleagues say Staley is at her best when faced with a test.

She has another one in front of her.

After reviving a lifeless Temple program in her hometown of Philadelphia, Staley has been hired to energize a South Carolina team that has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2003.

The 38-year-old Staley, introduced Saturday at USC, moves from the Atlantic 10 to the SEC, arguably the toughest conference in the country. She moves from Temple's campus in north Philadelphia, near the public housing project where she grew up, to the state where her mother was born.

"I think this is a bold move for me as far as coaching. It's going to challenge me on a lot of levels," Staley said. "But challenges are something that I've never shied away from."

That drive has taken Staley from the Raymond Rosen Homes in north Philly to Athens, Greece, where she carried the American flag for the U.S. contingent at the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics.

Staley has played in three Final Fours, three Olympics and five WNBA all-star games. As a coach, Staley has made the NCAA tournament six times in eight seasons and twice was named the Atlantic 10's coach of the year.

Not bad for someone who never wanted to coach until someone challenged her.

DRIVEN BY THE CHALLENGE

Staley grew up in a rough section of Philly and attended Dobbins Tech, the same high school that produced Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, the Loyola Marymount basketball stars who were three years ahead of Staley.

But Staley made her own name at Dobbins as USA Today's national player of the year in 1989.

"She was an icon at Dobbins," Ryan said. "She was a tremendous high school player, head and shoulders above the high school game."

Staley gained a reputation at Virginia as a selfless player who worked to get others involved.

"She had no ego. She had no agenda," Ryan said. "She just had one thing she wanted to do, and that was win."

Staley's pro career was highlighted by trips to the finals in the now-defunct ABL and WNBA. Staley was still active in the WNBA when Temple contacted her.

When teammates or coaches would tell Staley she would make a good coach, she responded by saying she did not want to be "one of them."

That changed when Staley learned Temple had not had a winning season in 10 years. At 29, she became the Owls' coach without having worked a day as an assistant.

"When I went in and spoke with the athletic director, he put it in a way of challenging my leadership and me turning the program around," she said. "That's the thing that got me."

The Owls won four Atlantic 10 tournament titles and became postseason fixtures under Staley, whose 172 wins are the most in program history.

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

Many questioned whether Staley would ever leave Temple, given her Philly roots and community involvement.

But the lure of competing in the SEC and the opportunity to move her 65-year-old mother back home provided the impetus.

Staley's friends believe she will do great things for the Gamecocks' basketball fortunes, as well. USC went to the NCAA tournament twice in Susan Walvius' 11-year tenure.

"I'm excited she's in the SEC," said Fox Sports analyst Teresa Edwards, a former Georgia point guard who played with Staley on two Olympic teams. "That's a testament to a lot of great coaches in the SEC. She's just joining the crew because she has the tools and what it takes."