Dawn Staley

I did, I attended for half of it and then I beat the crowd out and ended up watching it in my hotel room.

You definitely foul.

I would say I'm going to extend the time. Time is not on your side. So if you foul with 30 seconds, there's a lot of time left in order for you to play that cat and mouse game.

No, because I believe in my defense.

But what happened was an anomaly. Like, the probability of... Of the Knicks losing is not an anomaly.

Knicks in six.

That doesn't happen very often where you got a 17-point lead and you lose it.

So I probably would have been fouling the guy that was banging, like, five threes. I would not have let him get threes off.

Is that they did last night?

Defenses are smart. So it's more of the defenses actually acting Because the only thing you have to do is fall. If someone sets a hard screen on you or somewhat illegal screen, if you just put your body, make contact, and fall, more than likely they want to call it. They want to call that call. And it's an objective call.

I'm going to say this. When you're playing against a really tough offensive player, you're trying to create an edge. So if they're coming off of screens and I don't think I can get back into play, I'm going to fake a foul. I'm going to run into the screener and fall.

Try because because it's going to they're going to score because I can't get back in front.

You know what I mean? Um, I mean, there's really no motivating. You're in the Eastern Conference Finals. It is. You're at home. You still have an advantage. Like, when the home team loses, then it becomes a really good series. I do think the Knicks... is the better team, right? I do think they'll win game two. They'll probably lose game three. Win game four.

Yeah, go ahead. Write it down.

Yeah, in six.

I would, because at this stage of the game, if they drop another one, then they're done.

For me, less is more. Like, you actually have to know the pulse of your team. You have to look and see what they look like, what they sound like after that game. And you can probably look at the press conferences and hear what they're saying. And if they're saying, we let our foot off the gas, it's an anomaly, you know, we got this. I mean, they're up 17 with seven minutes left.

You're supposed to win that game. And if they put themselves in a position where they're up 17 in any other game, they're going to win.

Because it seems like you said- No, no, she was more is more. So I went the opposite, but still, we win.

So I'm equally as tough But I'm more of a communicator. I'm going to let you know it's going to be tough. And I'm going to keep letting you know it's going to be tough. So I condition you to know it's going to be tough. So it's not necessarily the team not liking me, because I don't think we liked her during the process. Like my team likes me.

Like they really understand what I'm trying to get them to accomplish. So we do it together. She pretty much separated herself from us and just kind of just pounded on us. And we just like it was strategic because she wanted us to come together as a team. And all of our anger and frustration was against her. Yeah. And whereas I want my team with me, we're doing this together, but it's hard.

It's threes or layups. And it definitely takes away the creativity of individual play. We can't do that on a collegiate level. Some teams can do it, and they put themselves in a position to win, but I've never seen anybody win championships. They win a lot of basketball games, but bottom line, you need to win championships. So if a person is really efficient,

in the mid-range, the NBA analytics don't say, take that shot. Because overall, mid-range shots are obsolete at this point because you're better off taking a three-pointer, trying to get an advantage over a two-point, of course. But I allow our players to play free and take the types of shots that they practice.

You know, we had a guy that was so much in the analytics, and he was like, this is what the last national championship teams look like. This, this, this, this. And we didn't look like any of them, our team. We ended up winning in 2017, not looking like what the analytically correct teams, national championship teams look like.

So I was like, okay, so you're saying if we do this, it's an automatic win. Right. And I'm like, no, it's not an automatic win because the players have to have to actually perform, not the numbers. And the numbers are part of it is just part of the game.

Well, I think all human beings, we are creatures of habit, right? And, you know, you know what your habit is. I know what my habit is. My teammates, my players know what their habit is.

So you would be a good teammate on the bench.

Right.

Yeah.

But you also have to allow people to be who they are. And you have to condition people to accept you for who you are. Like if you have a hothead player on your team, you gotta give them the space to be a hothead, right? Give them that space. And then at some point you gotta cut it off because it's impacting everybody else. If you got somebody that's quiet and they don't like to be yelled at,

then you got to walk up to them and whisper in their ear and curse them out. Not in front of everybody. Not in front of the entire team because they just don't take in information that way. So as a coach, you got to figure out each and every person and condition them. They're conditioning you to how they take in information and how they like to be coached.

And in turn, you're giving them how you like to coach and you have to meet. You got to meet them where they are.

No, it's their way or the highway.

And so you, I guess... That's why we thrive in this space because we're meeting players where they are and their entire families.

Yes, I think that contributes to winning.

I think it's great. I especially think it's great for women, because women are thriving in this space. Yeah. I think companies are realizing that women are top consumers around the world. And now that they want women to be brand ambassadors for their companies. And I just feel like women's basketball has been held back for so long that now that we're in demand and popular...

We're reaping the benefits in the NIL space. I will say there really has to be control over the amount of times that players can transfer. Because you can go to four schools in four years and still not graduate. Not at South Carolina, though.

I think that's bad. I think that's bad, but you can also go to four schools and get more money at each school each year. So that's good for the individual. Sure.

Yes, I think the NCAA needs to do something about the, just transfer whenever you, whenever things don't go your way or you want more money.

Do you feel the cover, the back cover? Yeah, it's got the basketball.

Right, right.

Yeah, I got diagnosed with pericarditis. Don't ask me, like, how. Sounds delicious. Right? I went to the best doctor in the country, which is at Cleveland Clinic. He told me that I need to sit down and... Have a coffee, he said. Sit down, have a coffee. And my coaching, this is... We got a great team. We got an opportunity to win a national championship.

He was like, if you don't sit down and just have a cup of coffee, you're going to need open-heart surgery. Yeah, so I was like... okay, but let me see if I can do this. I couldn't get my heart rate up because pericarditis is just the inflammation of the lining of your heart. So even when it pumps fast, it's knocking against the inflammation. It never heals.

I thought he was nuts, though. Like, I don't think he really understood, you know, what. And then he saw me coach.

Right.

And then he's like, oh, I saw you out there coaching, and that's probably something that you shouldn't be doing. Sure. And then I said, we're going to be tranquil after the season. So after the season, I got better. And then I started doing yoga, and then it went, I healed quicker than normal.

Yes. And no open heart surgery. Yes. Okay.