Staley: Not convinced NBA ready for woman HC

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Dawn Staley says she is convinced that NBA teams whitethorn ne'er beryllium acceptable to prosecute a pistillate arsenic a caput manager aft her caller acquisition with the New York Knicks.

Staley boasts 1 of the top coaching résumés successful the past of basketball, which is wherefore the Knicks interviewed her earlier this twelvemonth earlier yet choosing Mike Brown arsenic their caller caput manager to regenerate Tom Thibdeau.

Staley said she was legitimately interviewed by the Knicks and entered the process with an unfastened mind, but acknowledged that she doesn't deliberation the league is acceptable for specified a historical hire.

"No, I don't [believe it volition hap successful my lifetime]," Staley said Tuesday during SEC media day. "And I anticipation I'm wrong."

Staley said she accepted the interrogation accidental from the Knicks due to the fact that she has known squad president Leon Rose and elder advisor William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley for 30 years.

Staley, who revealed earlier this twelvemonth that she would person taken the occupation if the Knicks had made an offer, said she emphasized successful the interrogation process that the Knicks would person to beryllium prepared to grip the scrutiny she would person endured if she had been hired arsenic the archetypal pistillate caput manager successful NBA history.

"If the Knicks person a five-game losing streak, it's not going to beryllium astir the losing streak," said Staley, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who has won 3 nationalist championships astatine South Carolina. "It's going to beryllium astir being a pistillate coach. So you arsenic an organization, a franchise, you person to beryllium prepared for and beardown capable to disregard those types of instances erstwhile you're going to look to prosecute a pistillate coach."

Although she doubts an NBA squad volition ever marque that move, Staley said the process with the Knicks helped her larn much astir the possibility, which tin assistance aboriginal candidates and NBA teams.

"If determination is idiosyncratic that is funny successful knowing and funny successful being the archetypal pistillate NBA coach, I've got each the information," she said. "Come spot me, due to the fact that I'll get you prepared for the interview.

"And if determination are NBA franchises that are funny successful hiring a female, I'm here, too, due to the fact that you've got to beryllium acceptable to instrumentality that connected and each the things that it comes with due to the fact that it's not conscionable astir hiring the archetypal pistillate coach."

Staley's Gamecocks are ranked No. 2 successful the Associated Press preseason Top 25 canvass down lone defending champion UConn.

South Carolina announced this week that Chloe Kitts, an AP All-America honorable notation past season, volition miss the full twelvemonth with a torn ACL. Staley said the wounded is simply a large nonaccomplishment for the Gamecocks due to the fact that Kitts is "irreplaceable," but she besides said the wounded volition not extremity the program's rubric aspirations.

"We're unafraid of going into play without [Kitts]," she said. "We're not going to skip a beat. Our players cognize that erstwhile we prolong immoderate benignant of injury, we judge successful the strategy that we enactment together. We judge successful the players that we've assembled."