Dawn Stley would have left the South Carolina for the Coaching work of New York Knicks: “I should have done it”
Speaking with the podcast “Post Moves” with Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston, Staley said that if he had been offered the work of New York Knicks coach, he would have felt like “should he do it”.
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“If the Knicks had offered me the job, I would have had to do it. Not only for me, it’s for women. Just to open up [that door]”Said Stley.” I should have. They are the New York Knicks and I come from Philly. But they are the crazy about New York Knicks. “
According to The Athletic, Staley impressed Knicks managers during his interview, but was not considered a finalist for work to replace Tom Thibodeau. The team ended up taking Mike Brown after talking to a pool of candidates including the former head coaches James Borrego and Taylor Jenkins, as well as assistant Micah Nori of Minnesota Timberwolves.
Stley noticed that he would not take a job just because he was in the NBA. The history of the Knicks was a great factor for the reason why he accepted the invitation to talk about the open position. What he felt injured in the discussion and changed the energy in the room, were his pointed questions about what a female head of the coach would mean hiring for the organization in the future.
“Well, I had a series of questions I asked them,” said Staley. “No. 1 was: why was I in the pool of candidates? I said: ‘The organization of New York Knicks, in its history, has ever had what you are looking for? They wanted a team. They wanted inclusiveness with the direction, the coaches and everyone. They wanted it to seem a franchise up close. The answer was really’ no.” If you don’t take anyone different, how are you going to get it?
“How, if you took me as a first female [head] Coach in the NBA, would he have an impact on your daily work? Because he would do it, “said Stley.” You will ask questions that you don’t have to answer if you are a male coach. There will be the media and all these other things you are dealing with you haven’t had to do and you have nothing to do with when you take a male. This made them think: “Maybe he is right”. “
Stley, 55, is the female coach of the South Carolina since 2008. He is the most paid coach in the women’s college basketball after signing an extension during the 2029-30 season in January. The agreement begins with an annual salary of $ 4 million and will grow by $ 250,000 every year. In total, the agreement – which also includes a signature bonus of $ 500,000 – is valid about $ 25.5 million.
Since he hired the program, Staley has brought the Gamecock to nine securities of the sec tournaments, nine titles of the regular season and seven final appearances. It is four times Naismmith coach of the year and seven times coach of the century of the year.
Stley brought the South Carolina to three NCAA championships (2017, 2022, 2024), which is linked to third place in the basketball of the female college.