by Donald Hunt, Philadelphia Tribune Staff Writer
Dawn Staley continues to have an amazing coaching career. Staley, a University of South Carolina head women’s basketball coach and North Philadelphia native, led the United States women’s Olympic basketball team to 90-75 victory over Japan to win the gold medal.
This win was a huge accomplishment. It was the USA’s seventh gold medal. Staley, who has spent 30 years with USA Basketball, picked up her first gold medal as a head coach. The former Temple University head women’s basketball coach and Dobbins Tech product, has earned six gold medals in her Olympic career. She has won three as a player, two as an assistant coach and one as a head coach.
With capturing seven consecutive gold medals, the U.S. women have matched the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team’s streak of winning the first seven gold medals from 1936-68 following the Olympic basketball debut. Staley was able to get the victory thanks to a brilliant effort from former South Carolina standout A’ja Wilson who had 19 points, seven rebounds and five blocks to in the win.
It’s amazing what Staley has done with the game of basketball. For fans who watched her win three Public League basketball championships, named to three-time All-American teams at the University of Virginia, become an All-Star in the WNBA and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, you wonder if there’s anything else that she can do. Then, she becomes a great head women’s basketball coach at Temple from 2000-08. After that, she moves to South Carolina and in less than a decade Staley wins an NCAA championship in 2017.
The one thing Staley continues to do is inspire a lot of young people in her North Philadelphia community. With every accomplishment, she serves as a source of pride and motivation for a lot of youngsters.
United States head coach Dawn Staley. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)