Tag: Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley and hoops fans defend A’ja Wilson amid Nike signature logo backlash

Hoops fans, including Dawn Staley, are showing love for A’ja Wilson.

A’ja Wilson‘s logo for her forthcoming Nike signature shoe and clothing line was recently revealed, and after some online backlash, Dawn Staley and hoops fans are defending the design.

When A’ja’s signature shoe was finally announced in May, fans were overjoyed.  One of her biggest supporters, Dawn Staley, couldn’t contain her excitement and made a celebratory video, donning a fitting “Of course, she has a shoe” shirt.

The vibes were really high, and they continued over the weekend when Wilson launched her signature logo, which she admitted had been hiding in plain sight for months. Transparently, the logo is unique and probably wasn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But Wilson seemingly wasn’t expecting such targeted backlash from an outlet (in a since-deleted post) that claimed to support women. (Warning: NSFW language.)

It didn’t take long before Dawn Staley and loads of hoops fans jumped in to defend A’ja and the logo. Here’s what they said:

In another post to X (formerly Twitter), A’ja did not let the moment pass without thanking all of her supporters.

UPDATE: The Aces social media team has entered the chat and had a bit of fun with the moment.

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Dawn Staley had a classy message for Cameron Brink after the rookie’s season-ending ACL injury

This is great to see after such awful news for Cameron Brink.

The WNBA has lost a major talent for the rest of the season as star Los Angeles Sparks rookie forward Cameron Brink suffered a torn ACL on Tuesday.

It’s a major loss for the Sparks and for WNBA fans who have enjoyed watching this rookie class, as Brink was a major part of bringing in new fans to the league along with names like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

After news broke of Brink’s season-ending injury, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley shared a very kind message of support for Brink from her Twitter (X) account.

“Prayers up Cam!” Staley wrote. “Know your basketball family want nothing but for you to get healed up and back out there! Love!”

It’s great to see a person like Staley cheering Brink on after her injury, and we’re all hoping to see the Sparks rookie back on the court sooner than later.

Reese, NBA legend Magic Johnson and UConn star Paige Bueckers also offered Brink words of support after she got injured.

Brink also commented on her injury, promising a return to the game when she’s ready.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8aKB6qPBed

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Duke women’s basketball will play South Carolina next season

As a part of the 2024-25 ACC/SEC Challenge, Duke women’s basketball will travel to South Carolina, the winner of two of the last three national championships.

The Duke women’s basketball team gets a chance at the sport’s ultimate upset in 2024-25.

The team announced on Wednesday that, as a part of the 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge, the Blue Devils will travel to South Carolina to play the Gamecocks in December.

Dawn Staley’s program won two of the last three national championships, including an undefeated 38-0 season last year. South Carolina also won a national championship in 2017 and reached the Final Four in 2023, the only year it didn’t cut down the nets recently.

The Gamecocks roster gets even scarier next season despite star senior Kamilla Cardoso headed to the WNBA. Each of the team’s five other players who averaged at least nine points will be back, and MiLaysia Fulwiley (the team’s second-leading scorer with 11.7 points per game) was a freshman last season.

Duke, for its own merit, had the best season during head coach Kara Lawson’s tenure last year. The Blue Devils upset Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 as a No. 7 seed behind one of the best defenses in the country.

The game will be played on Thursday, December 5.

Dawn Staley adorably offered Breanna Stewart’s 2-year-old daughter a scholarship after Liberty win

This is just awesome.

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is one of the most beloved figures in the sport, and her latest interaction with New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart is a further example as to why.

As Stewart and her young daughter greeted Staley on the court after Saturday’s victory over the Indiana Fever, the Gamecocks coach adorably “offered” the young girl a scholarship to play for South Carolina one day.

While this is more adorable than a major development for Staley’s recruiting classes, it’s just really heartwarming to see two luminaries of the sport share a moment like this.

Maybe the young Stewart will actually play for Staley one day!

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Dawn Staley celebrated A’ja Wilson’s new Nike line ahead of the Las Vegas Aces’ preseason game in South Carolina

Dawn Staley couldn’t hide her excitement for the A’Ones

In case you didn’t know, Nike is making it loud and clear: A’ja Wilson has a shoe.

Or at least, she will soon.

The sportswear company finally announced the WNBA superstar is getting her own signature line and the rollout has been pretty solid for a product with few details confirmed.

While we don’t have a logo or a prototype yet, Nike timed the reveal of the A’One line with Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces trip to South Carolina for a WNBA preseason game against the Puerto Rico National Team. Wilson played for the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena and now returns as a two-time WNBA MVP with back-to-back championships.

Nike even brought in South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley to help with the announcement, giving the iconic coach a shirt that reads “Of Course She Has A Shoe” mimicking the sweatshirt Wilson pulled up in for the game.

Staley posted a video congratulating the Gamecocks legend as well and it’s worth the watch.

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Dawn Staley revealed that teams already don’t want to play South Carolina next season

If a coach had five new starters, went undefeated AND won a championship, I’d be scared too.

The ripple effect of South Carolina going undefeated and winning a national championship is already stretching into next season. Dawn Staley recently shared that she believes teams are afraid to add the Gamecocks to their schedule.

South Carolina stunned the women’s basketball community when it opened and closed the season the same way — with an ultra-impressive win. From the opening tip in Paris with a new starting unit to the final minutes of the national championship in Cleveland, Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks owned the 2023-2024 season.

But apparently, it hasn’t come without consequences. Staley recently told a local radio station that teams don’t seem too enthusiastic about playing South Carolina.

Per Payton Titus of The State, this is what Staley told the station Wednesday:

“It’s really hard because people don’t want to play us,” Staley said of the challenges that come with putting together a schedule. “And, I mean, really good teams don’t want to play. And I just…I don’t get it.”

Staley went on to share that the team already has some matchups on its 2024-2025 schedule, including UConn at South Carolina, South Carolina at UCLA, and a must-see matchup with Kara Lawson and Duke.

The Gamecocks will also participate in the ACC-SEC challenge again as well.

South Carolina’s Dawn Staley raves about Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso pairing in WNBA

Two college rivals are now set to join forces in the WNBA.

Two big-time college rivals are now set to join forces in the WNBA.

The Chicago Sky selected South Carolina center [autotag]Kamilla Cardoso[/autotag] third overall and later took LSU forward [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] with the seventh pick in the 2024 WNBA draft on Monday night. Now, two players who faced head-to-head multiple times in college will unite to create one of the toughest frontcourt groups in the league.

Speaking recently on 670 The Score, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley had high praise for both players and said she was excited to see them play together.

“Kamilla is the ultimate competitor,” Staley said. “Angel Reese — ultimate competitor. We had a lot of battles, last year and this season. We were the top two teams in the SEC, so you know they are enemies by nature because of rivalry. But now they’ve joined hands in hopefully bringing a WNBA championship to Chicago. I’m a fan. I’m gonna get me some season tickets. I know I won’t be there the entire season. But somebody’s gonna be sitting in my seats cheering Kamilla Cardoso on.”

The pair will look to bring the Sky their second championship in franchise history after they won the WNBA in 2021.

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Dawn Staley said Caitlin Clark is ‘the sole reason’ for the ratings boost in women’s college basketball

Dawn Staley said that Caitlin Clark is the sole reason for the ratings boost in women’s college hoops.

While South Carolina topped Iowa in the women’s NCAA national championship game this month, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley is giving sole credit to former Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark for the recent ratings boost in the sport.

Indeed, this year’s tournament drew in record numbers when Clark was on the court. To Staley, the impact that the new Indiana Fever guard had on women’s basketball is immense.

Speaking with 670 The Score about spreading awareness for the sport, Staley argued that Clark is “the sole reason” for the ratings boost the game has experienced recently, and that her popularity helps bring awareness to other deserving athletes in the sport when they play each other.

“Caitlin Clark is the sole reason why viewership has shot through the roof for our game,” Staley told the radio show. “And I think the decision-makers are following suit in making sure that other games are being played besides Caitlin Clark because, if you play Caitlin Clark, you’re going to run up against somebody that you might find that’s pretty good.”

Staley’s sentiments make sense in the way that rising tides lift all boats, and Clark’s popularity absolutely drew audiences in and exposed them to more of the college game’s bright stars.

However, others might argue that while Clark may have been the main reason for the recent ratings boost, there were other standouts in the game that played a key role in the recent elevation of awareness.

Either way, Staley is an authoritative voice in women’s college basketball, and her praise of Clark’s impact on the game holds major credence.

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Beyoncé sending Dawn Staley flowers has hoops fans creating magnificent memes

South Carolina is officially in the Bey Hive, and hoops fans created some absolutely hilarious memes

After Beyoncé sent Dawn Staley flowers to congratulate her and South Carolina on their immaculate season, hoops fans realized that Beyoncé had been watching the whole time and responded with magnificent memes.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: WE ARE NOT TALKING ENOUGH ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA’S UNDEFEATED SEASON. Apparently, Beyoncé likely feels the same way and recently sent Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks their proverbial and literal flowers.

Dawn was so pumped that she shared precious videos to X (Formerly Twitter) of her thanking Beyoncé and celebrating the certified stamp of approval that one of the biggest celebrities on the planet gave to South Carolina.

Right on cue, hoops fans immediately made a colossal realization: Beyoncé had seen all the wildly impressive things South Carolina did to win a national championship. They responded with some hysterically creative memes and tweets.

Here’s some of the best we found:

Dawn Staley delivered a heartfelt message to Beyoncé for sending her flowers and swag

Dawn Staley is so lucky that Beyoncé is one of her biggest fans.

A Hall of Famer and perennial championship coach with South Carolina, Dawn Staley is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in basketball.

In fact, Staley is so influential that she’s now got one very appreciative super-fan: Beyoncé.

On Wednesday, Staley posted a video to her Twitter account revealing that the superstar singer sent her beautiful flowers, swag, and a message about how closely she followed Staley and South Carolina throughout this past entire season. It’s clear that Beyoncé put a lot of effort and thought into her appreciation of Staley.

Needless to say, Staley was jubilant to get her literal flowers from one of the greatest entertainers of all time.

Does it get any better than two respective legends in their fields coming together like this? What an awesome gesture from Beyoncé.