About Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley still thinks like a player despite the fact that she has been very successful as a head coach. The 2004 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, who initially had to be talked into the profession, has won 74 games in her first four seasons, captured Temple's only two conference championships and earned three postseason bids. All of these accomplishments occurred while Staley maintained her highly publicized "summer job" as an All-Star player for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting. In the summer of 2004 she captured her third Olympic Gold Medal, playing for team USA in the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece and was selected as the United States flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.

Temple's head coach since the 2000-01 season, Staley has led the Owls to a pair of NCAA Tournaments in her four years at the helm. In 2002, Temple captured the school's first Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament title and in 2004 she led the Owls to the top of the A-10 East standings with a 14-2 record and Temple's second A-10 Tournament title for her second trip to the Big Dance as a coach. The 2004 Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year and 2002 Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year, Staley currently boasts a 74-47 (.612) record after finishing the 2003-04 season with a 21-10 mark.

Staley began her storied basketball career at Dobbins Tech High School (1986-89) in Philadelphia where she was named USA Today's National High School Player of the Year and led Dobbins to three straight Philadelphia Public League championships. Staley was a three-time Kodak All-American while starring at the University of Virginia (1989-92). She helped UVA to a 110-21 record and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Three of those trips led to Final Four appearances in 1990, 1991 and 1992, and in 1991 the Cavaliers were the national runners-up. She holds the NCAA record for steals with 454 and was named the National Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992. In addition, she was the ACC Conference Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992 and the Rookie of the Year in 1989.

From 1992 to 1994, Staley played with a number of professional teams in France, Italy, Brazil and Spain. In 1994, she returned to American soil and competed for USA Basketball in the Goodwill games and the World Championships. That year, Staley was named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. In 1996, Staley guided the historic USA Basketball Women's team that compiled a perfect 60-0 record and captured the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Staley began her United States professional playing career when she joined the Richmond Rage of the ABL in 1996-97 and helped the team to the ABL finals. The Rage moved to Philadelphia for the 1997-98 season and played at The Liacouras Center on Temple's main campus. She averaged 14.0 ppg., 7.2 apg., and 3.5 rpg. in her ABL career and was a two-time ABL All-Star. Staley then moved to the WNBA as the number nine pick of the Charlotte Sting in the 1999 WNBA draft. In her first season in Charlotte, she averaged 11.5 ppg and ranked third in the league in assists with 5.5 apg. en route to leading the Sting to a second place finish in the WNBA's Eastern Conference.

During the summer of 2000, Staley was quite busy as she played another season for the Charlotte Sting and was a member of the first Women's "Dream Team," a collection of women's professional players that represented the United States in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Despite those commitments she still found time to head the Dawn Staley Foundation which is aimed at giving inner-city children positive input. The foundation sponsors after-school programs, a three-hour focus on academics and athletics at the Hank Gathers Recreation Center, as well as summer leagues and fund-raising activities. She was awarded the 1999 WNBA Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for her work with the Foundation.

A three-time WNBA All-Star, Staley helped lead the Sting to the 2001 WNBA Finals despite Charlotte beginning the season with a 1-10 record. In 2003, Staley won the skills competition at the WNBA's All-Star Weekend, edging out Seattle's Sue Bird. Staley is one of just three women in American history to earn three consecutive Olympic basketball gold medals (Olympic teammates Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes are the others).