“A'ja allowed me to be a part of her open book. Honestly, I didn't know the depths of where she could go. I get the points, the rebounds, the blocks. But the pull she has on this community? Women's basketball overall?”

American basketball coach and former player

Dawn Staley is an American basketball coach and former player, best known as the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team. As a point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers and later spent eight seasons in the Women’s National Basketball Association, mainly with the Charlotte Sting. She also represented the United States women’s national basketball team, winning three Olympic gold medals as a player from 1996 to 2004. In 2021, she coached the U.S. team to another Olympic gold medal. Staley is the only person to win the Naismith Award both as a player and as a coach.