South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is an Olympic gold medalist, true crime aficionado, dedicated dog mom and so much more. In her new book “Uncommon Favor” — which hit shelves on May 20 — Staley touches on some of her passions while also sharing the life experiences that helped shape her into a championship-winning coach.
Through “Uncommon Favor,” readers learn a lot about what drives Staley and discovered some candid moments that provide a glimpse into her personality. With that in mind, CBS Sports decided to share five highlights from Staley’s new autobiography.
Her life motto comes from the movie ‘House Party’
After being cut from the 1992 USA Olympic team, Staley was forced to continue her basketball career in Spain. To combat the disappointment of missing the Olympic team and her homesickness, Staley decided to watch the “House Party” movie trilogy. While watching these classic comedic films, Staley stumbled across a scene that would change the way she views life.
“There was a scene in one of the films where Kid ‘n Play were partying and messing around, and a professor catches them and reads them the Riot Act,” Staley recalls. “As he’s schooling them, the professor concludes his lecture, saying sternly, ‘You have to do what you don’t want to do to get what you want.’
“My brain froze when I heard that line. I was like, ‘Ohhhh. That’s why I’m here.’ That message wasn’t for you, Kid ‘n Play. That message was for me.”
After that, she decided to “suck it up” and continue gaining experience by playing abroad because she knew it could eventually help her make a future USA Olympic team.
Tara VanDerveer inspired Staley
Dawn Staley made the the final Team USA roster for the 1996 Summer games in Atlanta. In doing so, legendary Stanford women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer became her Olympic head coach. In “Uncommon Favor,” Staley recalled VanDerveer’s rigorous training camp…
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