Dawn Staley: HOF Basketball Career, NCAA Titles, Answer to Critics & Reveals Guilty Pleasure

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST: MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcast INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivot TWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivot TIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivot FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcast FOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydad FIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/find One of the most decorated female athletes in women’s basketball, Staley took her passion for the sport and applied her point guard abilities to navigating life and helping young women follow their dreams. Often widely criticized for her outspoken approach, Staley is unapologetic in standing up for her players and the integrity of the game which is what makes her such an inspiration and rarity in coaching. Staley shares how her passion for sports and competition stems from an early age growing up in North Philadelphia and helped set her on a path toward her wildly successful career. Only a few weeks removed from a tough loss in the final four, Staley is finding focus and peace in moving forward and the success her players are having as women off the court and the people they’ve become. Channing asks how someone so dedicated has time for themselves and he asks her if there is a personal component to life or what she does for fun…and her guilty pleasure may shock you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.

• 0:11Speaker 00

  Ask your prescriber about Wegovy. Semaglutide injection, 2.4 milligrams a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-WEGOVIE or visit wegovie.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wegovy. Why wait?

• 0:30Channing Crowder?

  Some people ain't got no hobbies. I don't have hobbies. You don't have hobbies, that's the problem, Ryan. You pick up a fishing rod, a golf club. What's up, Coach?

• 0:37Speaker 02

  How y'all doing? Sorry, I'm a little late.

• 0:39Ryan Clark?

  How you doing? Coach Staley ain't gotta apologize. We on your time. I think this is the first time we've ever had a dog and a guest. But I mean, shoot, when you Dawn Staley, you bring whoever you want to.

• 0:52Speaker 02

  Champ.

• 0:53Ryan Clark?

  Champ.

• 0:53Speaker 02

  Yeah, 2017, when we won, I got a dog.

• 0:56Fred Taylor?

  Fitting.

• 0:57Ryan Clark?

  That is very fitting.

• 0:58Speaker 05

  Hold up.

• 1:22Ryan Clark?

  Well, welcome to The Pivot. This is Channing, Freddie T. I'm RC. It's an honor to sit with you, to give people an opportunity to understand what North Philly made Dawn Staley, to go on to Virginia and be Naismith Player of the Year two times, ABL All-Star, WNBA All-Star. A player-coach that's not actually in the same place where she's playing and coaching. Four gold medals. To now be the head coach at the University of South Carolina. Two national championships, three-time. Coach of the year, back to back recently. And so for us, it is truly an honor to sit with you.

• 2:05Ryan Clark?

  So just to get right in it, you know, I read that you said, you know, you were kind of upper class since you grew up right outside of Raymond Rosen Projects in North Philly. And we've heard so much about how you are connected to that city, the ways that you still go back and give. What about being raised there helped you be the person you are today?

• 2:29Speaker 02

  I said I was upper class because as a whole, there were, in the projects, you have high rises and then you have like row homes. And if you lived in a row homes and not have to deal with whatever happens on floors and elevators and the high rises, you were sitting pretty. I had the luxury of not ever having to live there. My parents lived in high rises. My older siblings lived in the high rises, but the younger siblings lived, you know, in the burbs, so to speak. I mean, when you grow up in Philly, it is, it's survival, you know? I'm not saying, I'm not saying that I was around like, like gunshots and all of that.

• 3:12Speaker 02

  I know it was there, but I didn't experience that. You know, what I experienced was sports. Like, sports was the, was the thing. It is the very thing that, that you live for. It, it didn't even matter that it was organized. It could just be a pickup game, anywhere. It could be like, we're playing against a rival neighborhood in, in baseball or softball or tackle football. It was, that is what kind of drove us to, to want to just stay on a, on a straight and narrow.

• 3:46Ryan Clark?

  Your tenacity, your passion, the stuff that, honestly, it's crazy. We'll talk about it. You get criticized for it sometimes. It was funny, I thought about it when RC said it. Philly made you, but it's a nature nurture conversation. Like, what you have inside of you, that wasn't there when you were born? That was created?

• 4:02Speaker 02

  I mean, I'm the youngest of five, so everything was a competition. Like, to, to eat was a competition. To get in the bathroom, because it was one bathroom for seven of us, was a competition. You know, our neighborhoods created competition. So it was, it's more of like, you know, I, I might have been born being competitive. I might have been, you know, it was innately, you know, in me to be competitive. It's just where do you foster that? Where do you, where do you find the places to feed that? That will have a positive impact on your life? Because you can, you know, I, I never learned this, and I'm glad I didn't learn this at an early age, is to play craps. Like, because they play craps.

• 4:46Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 4:47Speaker 02

  Like, I never learned it. I never learned it, maybe because I never had money to play.

• 4:51Fred Taylor?

  Can't get in the game.

• 4:52Speaker 02

  Like, to this day, I don't even know, like, you go to, you know, you go to a casino and you play craps and that's your, you got the highest percentage of winning the most on the crack table. But I, I didn't learn it. I didn't, I didn't learn that. Uh, because being as competitive that I am, you know, I probably would have lost a lot.

• 5:10Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 5:11Speaker 02

  I probably would have stole some to go play. So, I, I mean, sports was the thing that really got me into just feeding my, my insatiable appetite for, for wanting to win.

• 5:23Fred Taylor?

  Coach, RC tried, and I told myself before we got started that I wouldn't try. I'm usually the guy that gives everybody their flowers when they come on the show. So I was gonna run off your list of accolades. You got too many, so I'm gonna tell all our people, just Google her. If y'all wanna know, she got so many. And, um, are you a hoarder?

• 5:41Speaker 02

  I am.

• 5:41Fred Taylor?

  Because I'm looking around.

• 5:44Speaker 02

  Like, I am a hoarder.

• 5:44Fred Taylor?

  Do you have enough trophies? This is insane. We got two rooms. I'm sure there's more.

• 5:49Speaker 02

  I don't want this at my house, though. Like, I don't have, I don't have trophies or anything at my house.

• 5:53Fred Taylor?

  No?

• 5:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's all, everything's here.

• 5:55Fred Taylor?

  All right, so going back to the coaching days when you, when you first started. Um, so you were still actively in the WNBA when you started at Temple. Grinding so you can be your best in the WNBA, and also try to give the young ladies your best at Temple. Juggling all that and that process, how, how was that?

• 6:13Speaker 02

  It was easy, I actually, I mean, when you, I, I got great people. Like, I got people who were like real coaches. I didn't really consider myself a real coach. Um, but just, I think who you hire, who you get in the foxhole with, um, is very, very important. Like, I got people who really balanced, you know, what my weaknesses were. I didn't know how to be a coach. I didn't know all the administrative work. Didn't know that, so I tried to go get somebody that was a coach. That was, that's what they, you know, that's what they've been doing for decades. And then, you know, for me, coaching gave me instant credibility, you know, in recruiting.

• 6:55Speaker 02

  Because I'm doing the very thing that the players that we aspire, they want to do. They want to play in the WNBA. So I could get in any door. Doesn't mean I'm gonna, you know, land the commitment.

• 7:08Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 7:08Speaker 02

  But I can get in the door. So allow me to get in the door. And I just, I've always just, I always see myself as a point guard. Like I, like no matter what, if I'm playing or not, like this game of life, I see myself as a point guard. So I don't really wear the coaching hat like a coach. It's more of just kind of, you know, managing and facilitating and doing what I need to do to put people in a good place to be successful.

• 7:35Ryan Clark?

  I tell you what, I know you get an earful, but whatever champ got going on with his ears, he trying to figure.

• 7:41Speaker 02

  That's Tostamro, he's got to do the whole back, that's Tostamro.

• 7:43Ryan Clark?

  He trying, he's trying to figure it out. Coach, you know, when you get into coaching and you kind of speak about being able to relate and communicate, you have quotes of saying that you were antisocial, a loner before, and actually saying you never wanted to get into coaching. Coach Allen at Virginia said she knew all along that if she could get you to communicate how you did on the basketball court away from it, that you would be successful and impactful in everything that you'd ever do. You chose Virginia over Penn State because it had space and because you could be free.

• 8:25Ryan Clark?

  What was that culture shock like going to a place like Charlottesville coming from Philadelphia?

• 8:32Speaker 02

  I mean, I grew up in a neighborhood that was... 100% black. And then I go to a predominantly white university. And, and, I mean, it wasn't culture shock. Because I, I never dealt with, I never dealt with anybody other than athletes. I kept to myself. Like, I only wanted to play basketball. Just, I, I went to Virginia to play basketball. I didn't go there because it was prestigious university. I went there because I wanted to be a part of a program that hadn't won a national championship. And then, in life, when you have to make a decision, you have non-negotiables. There are things that you just won't settle. And that's how I recruit, like.

• 9:16Speaker 02

  The recruit's gonna find out, you know, they, they have to find what they want. And, and let that guide them. Because we could talk, you know, we're in the business of persuading people. And so were coaches back then, just trying to persuade you to come to, to their school for this reason, to build things, to... For me, it was the dorms. That was the non-negotiable. I lived in a household of seven, like, seven people, sharing one bathroom, one toilet, you know, and Virginia, Penn State presented the old dorms where you got a roommate, you gotta walk down the hall to the bathroom, shower and all that, take your, your bucket. And then I went to Virginia, that was the only two visits that I took.

• 10:01Speaker 02

  Virginia had like these suites. You had a roommate, and you had three other rooms. And then you had a few showers and a few bathrooms and a common area. Like, space. So, I knew then, like, this is the separator. Because you find, like, they were all saying the same things. They were all wanting me to come and blah, blah, blah, blah. But, the separator for me was just that dorm. That newly, it was new. It was less people that I had to deal with. And I didn't know there was such thing called a germaphobe, but I was probably a germaphobe back then, like I am now. But when I went to, when I went to Virginia... I was just about one thing, it was basketball.

• 10:43Ryan Clark?

  Has the two championships here at South Carolina help you wash the taste out of your mouth of the loss to Tennessee? When you filed out in the Final Four? Or, I think it was Stanford, your last year, you shoot the buzzer beater. Is there ever any accomplishment now as a coach that kind of helps you get over those things? Because I can remember the Super Bowl I lost much more than the game I won. Does coaching and winning now help you kind of distance yourself from those Ls?

• 11:17Speaker 02

  We're like two weeks removed from us losing in the Final Four. So, you know, that "ugh" is there. And I do think every so often that you need to experience that in order for you to find that, you know, that desire. Like, I'm recruiting a little bit different because, you know, I want to get back. So, yeah, it took me, like, I gotta go back. There are only two times I saw women play when I was growing up in the projects. And that was national championship games, live on television, and gold medals, like, at the Olympics. So, for all of my life, I just wanted to win a national championship and win a gold medal and be an Olympian.

• 11:59Speaker 02

  And I didn't get that accomplished at Virginia. Was able to get, you know, gold medals a little bit later on in life. So, I never thought I would be able to be put in a position to win a national championship because I didn't see myself as a coach. But, lo and behold, coaching found me. And the first one allowed me to just enjoy it. Like, I selfishly enjoyed it because it's something that I really wanted to do. But also look beyond that and just, you know, all the former players that I, that believed in us winning the national championship, knowing that we probably weren't going to win.

• 12:40Speaker 02

  It was for them, like it was really for them to be a part of it. And I actually gave every single one of my former players at Temple and South Carolina a miniature national championship trophy. And the coaches that I coached with because they were just as much as a part of it because it's really the build. It's the people who were believing in you before you're actually able to win it are the most important people because they believe without, you know, without knowing. And until you're actually able to win a national championship, you don't know. Like as a coach, you don't know what it takes. So I know I was one of those coaches that when we didn't win, I was recruiting for people to come, I didn't know what I didn't know.

• 13:25Speaker 02

  But now I know, like when you've won, you know what it takes. And it takes more than five players, six players. It takes a really a commitment by probably nine to 10 players.

• 13:38Fred Taylor?

  The question I have for you was the success you've had on each level from high school, player of the year, two-time Naismith at UVA, right? WNBA, internationally winning gold medals, as a coach winning gold medals. And here, with that, what has been the key to your success?

• 13:58Speaker 02

  I don't really care about that stuff. I really don't. The key is just, just, just to compete is really fulfilling to me. Just to navigate through how do I fuck somebody? Like I get more of a rise out of that than the actual winning part of it. I do think the winning is for other people. Like I want to win for our players. I mean, I've won pretty much everything that, so it's more of being a dream merchant for my players. Like I don't want them to hurt. I want them to do it the right way. I want them to really understand to take care of our game.

• 14:40Speaker 02

  Because we're at a place where it's busting through the seams. And we have to take care of that. Like, I want to coach players who understand like how to navigate, how to continue to keep our game in a place where people want more and more and more and more. Like, and not really think about it selfishly. Because we all can be selfish in wanting to make a lot of money, to, you know, to be the best player in the world or be considered that. But there's a way to go about doing it. I think men's basketball has an edge on women's basketball to a certain extent. I don't think men's basketball, I don't think they beat each other up as much as we beat each other up.

• 15:24Speaker 02

  As far as with words, you know. You know, like, everybody, everybody can eat in our game. Like, there's room for everybody to be successful. And you don't have to choose one over the other. You can appreciate what we all are bringing to the table. And we don't do that. Commentators don't do it. Decision makers don't do it. And it hurts our game more than helps our game when we choose.

• 15:53Channing Crowder?

  I read somewhere you said there's people in public that are critical of your team, of you, of your style. And you're open about it, saying it's unacceptable. I've heard that, but I haven't heard, what do they say about y'all? What have you heard from the horse's mouth?

• 16:07Speaker 02

  So, I did say something after we lost in the final four. And I, here's the thing, I didn't say the media, the national media that cover our games, I didn't say that they called us thugs and street fighters and bar fi- I didn't say they did that. That was just, I included everything in it.

• 16:27Channing Crowder?

  Right.

• 16:28Speaker 02

  I said, and I'm gonna clear up because a lot of people don't understand. I said they were overheard talking about our team in a way that they should not have, in choosing sides. And when you're in public and you're choosing a side and you are the national sports writer for our team and you're overheard, you know, that narrative, we already see in your writings. So to hear it, you know, is hurtful, okay? And then- Like fanbases and people who really don't watch us play, they've called us thugs and street fighters and coons and all of that. And I don't think people really like the fact that,

• 17:12Speaker 02

  you know, a predominantly black team or a black coach is at the top of women's basketball. I don't. I don't think decision makers are used to it. I don't care. Like, I really don't care. I serve as young people. I care most when you hurt my young people that I have to deal with every day because I don't have some of the answers that they want to hear besides, "This is the way it is. We're gonna have to navigate through this, and you're gonna have to figure it out because it's not changing no matter where you are." And you can get a piece of the pie and be successful, but the law of averages,

• 17:53Speaker 02

  that the way sports are made up, you know, and the microcosm of how this world is made up, it doesn't favor us. We can get a small piece of it, but that's not what they want to see. It's not what they want to see. "I'm called the race baiter and all of that." I'm gonna give you my vantage point through my eyes. Through my eyes. And just as you can refute that or negate it through how you experience life, and I'm good with that, but don't... Let's not call each other names. Let's talk intelligently about what we see and what we feel because you're not gonna change how I see or feel the way that I have to navigate through sports.

• 18:36Fred Taylor?

  I think you're doing a great job. For the most part, these reporters and a lot of media, they've never been in those shoes. And a lot of them never played sports. So they don't understand when you have legendary coaches. You know, Coach Bobby Bowden, he would say, "Play through the echo of the whistle." Still within the rules, but we're gonna play through the echo of the whistle. And Coach Bill Belichick would say, "Do business as business is being done." Meaning, don't get caught. So everyone, all these coaches, they have their different philosophies. And quite naturally, the players are gonna be a sponge to that. And they're just gonna do it through competing on the field. I would say, Coach, and I know I'm not the one to say it now, but I love your style. I love everything your girls have done.

• 19:21Fred Taylor?

  And I would say... Hey, I can say it for you on this tape to the reporters, but I won't because we're in your beautiful office.

• 19:31Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, but Coach, you remember?

• 19:32Speaker 02

  Let me just interrupt. I didn't want to say names.

• 19:34Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 19:35Speaker 02

  Because I know, I know who it is. And they know, they know I know. So it's not on me to say who it is. I just put them on notice that I know. So, don't, don't come back. Don't come back here asking for a story or covering us in that way because I know how you feel. So unless you want to go out there and say what you did and what you said, if it's a miscommunication or whatever, you, you got caught. You just got caught with it. And it's okay. It really is okay because we already know. And when you already know and it's just confirmed, because they won't ever confirm what they believe,

• 20:19Speaker 02

  they'll just continue on like they're continuing on. And I, I let one of those people in, in here. And I'm not very trusting. I'm not very a trust, I'm not that. That's why I'm quiet. That's why I'm an introvert. That's why I grew up that way. Because I'm not very trusting of people. But when I let you in, I do feel like, I feel like a little trust. And, and maybe it was that, that really, it didn't really hurt me. It's more of when you, when you talk about me, you're talking about, you're talking about my players. Like, you're talking about them. I can handle it. You know, I'm over 50 years old. Ain't nothing anybody can do that's, that's really going to hurt me.

• 21:01Speaker 02

  I'm from Philly. I'm from North Philly, so that's not. But when you hurt my players, that's a different story. They, they haven't built up enough to ward against, you know, what they're hearing and what their, their feelings like. So I have to, I have to help them navigate through that. So it, it's cool, like, you know, and I'm not race baiting. I'm not, I'm, I'm good with having. Uncomfortable conversations because that's what we need to have. We don't have enough of them. And that's why people have to to work behind the scenes. Like let's let's have a conversation while you feel the way you feel.

• 21:38Fred Taylor?

  Whoever that person is, just know this. Well, those people, when a black woman knows and she ain't telling you she knows, but she knows, watch yourself. That's what you better do.

• 21:48Ryan Clark?

  Coach, as someone in the media who's often called a race bayer, I understand, you know, quiet is kept as well, or not so quiet. I went to LSU. We had an opportunity to sit down with Flage and Angel after they won the national championship. And we addressed a lot of these things. And I think so many times when you make a statement like you did, people are looking for the overtly racism things like the N word or different things. And it's the small microaggressions. It's the coded language that is used when covering a Dawn Staley or when covering a University of South Carolina women's basketball team that we all see and that we understand.

• 22:30Ryan Clark?

  And the confirmation actually doesn't need to be had. But when it is, no, I have to address it and react in the way that you did. For you, you beat in two years consecutively. You beat Gino Oriema, you beat Stanford and Vandevere, and you beat Kim Mulkey and LSU. No coach has done that in two consecutive years, and you did. And then there's some poll that comes out that talks about the best X's and O's coaches in women's basketball. And I know Gino was second. Tara Vandevere was first. And Dawn Staley had an honorable mention for getting one vote. It's not only in the way that your team is covered

• 23:13Ryan Clark?

  or in the way that fan bases react to South Carolina. It's also sometimes in the way people perceive your ability and acumen to coach. You fight for black women and also just women's sports in general. When you see these type of things, how do you feel about those?

• 23:32Speaker 02

  I feel like, damn, if I'm not a good X and O coach and we're beating who we're beating.

• 23:39Speaker 06

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now it's your time.

• 23:49Speaker 00

  Ask your prescriber about Wegovy. Someaglutide injection 2.4 milligrams a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-WEGOVIE or visit wegovie.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wegovy. Why wait?

• 24:08Speaker 02

  Who are they? Like, what?

• 24:11Speaker 02

  Like, what are we just? What are we? Are people just allowing us to win? Like, is it like coming from above? Like, I really don't care. Like, I really don't. Like, that is nothing. Another poll came out to say, you know, several student athletes would, if you couldn't play for your current coach, who would you want to play? They said me. Like, I dig that. I do dig that because, you know, that's coming from a young person and, you know, those are coming from adults. That, that stat you just pointed out, that poll, they're coming from other coaches and probably media. When you're talking to young people, they, they, they see what they see and they feel what they feel. And I dig that more than anything.

• 24:54Speaker 02

  I'm not out here trying to just pump myself up. Like, I don't, I hope people understand. I really don't, I don't care. I don't, I don't care about accolades. Now, I, I would say I'm selfishly, I selfishly wanted to be in the Hall of Fame as a, as a player. And I selfishly want to be in the Hall of Fame as a coach. I do want that. But that's not my, that's not my call. It will be, it will be whoever it is that decides to, to vote on that. That was, that's probably only two selfish things. And I didn't want to be that as a coach until I got into coaching. And, and basketball and sports had, it has a way of just kind of helping you aspire to want to do things when you're in this space.

• 25:39Speaker 02

  And those are just... Two things that I selfishly want and you know I hope that it happens but if it doesn't I'm good too like my whole life is dedicated to helping young people find their niche in life no matter what it is.

• 25:55Channing Crowder?

  And Coach and you're criticized a lot about how your team plays and there's racial there's racial unlied there we know that but why do why are people so uncomfortable and I say it I've heard it they play like boys. How are women supposed to play basketball to make people feel comfortable because if you out there balling to win a national championship it seem like everybody should play like a damn boy.

• 26:17Speaker 02

  Yep well I mean here's the thing the only thing I don't like about it when when when people make references of us being overly physical it has a way of determining like how the game is being called. It's a narrative that I usually don't address but I addressed it this past season because I knew as we as we continue down this path of of our our season and going into the NCAA tournament that it could burn us if enough people are saying it enough coaches are saying it then they're gonna have to address it so do I think that it was a part of our national semifinals absolutely.

• 27:02Speaker 02

  Do I think it had the same impact on Iowa in the national championship game absolutely. So for me and I'm gonna bring this up like why can't we talk about officiating like why we can't talk about officiating like we had two black female officials in the national championship game three females did y'all hear a lot about the officiating after the national?

• 27:28Channing Crowder?

  No.

• 27:28Speaker 02

  Y'all didn't what was y'all looking at? Because there were, there were, there were articles written. There were articles written, written on.

• 27:36Ryan Clark?

  Katelyn had fouls early. Big, uh, they're big, fouled out. Alexis was on the bench early in the game, but I didn't see really very many articles about it.

• 27:44Speaker 02

  There was a big article in USA Today. Somebody wrote about it and then they had a quote from the, a coordinator on the men's side about how bad it was.

• 27:53Ryan Clark?

  Oh wow.

• 27:54Speaker 02

  Right? So I look at that and I'm just like, hmm. Like, a whole article on officiating when we have two black officials. They'll probably never do another national championship game because they became one of the stories of the national championship game. Now, I think they should have been a story about the semifinals against, you know, when we played Iowa. But that wasn't brought up. That wasn't brought up. So, for, for me, I do think officials, we should be able to talk about the officials. Whether we agree or disagree, and I think officials should be able to talk. Because it's becoming, it's, they're becoming more part of our, the storyline in our game. And they should be able to defend themselves.

• 28:39Speaker 02

  Like, we should be able to talk about them without be, without being fined. Without be fined. I don't even know if I'm going to be fined, but I think it's part of our game that we need to discuss. And, and it's, it's fair game. If they're going to impact it, it's fair game. They should not be able to just, you know, ride off.

• 28:58Ryan Clark?

  But when you go back to the national championship game, uh, there is the prism of seeing it, that the fact that there were two African-American female officials. And on the other side of that, those officials were calling a game with Iowa, who Katelyn Clark, who had became America's darling, has three fouls in the first half. She gets a technical that I believe she earned. And so obviously, when that is the person that everyone is focused on, and now officiating affects her, and it's two black officials, you know, it makes more sense to me now when you mention that. Through articles and through conversation that officiating was a huge part of it.

• 29:38Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, it is. And it becomes, you know, that was a narrative afterwards. And I don't know if it's because of two black officials, or just bad officiating, or what have you. But I know what's gonna happen to those officials. I know. And I'm gonna watch and see if they get a chance to come to the final four, or do a national championship game. Probably not. Probably not, but I gotta look out for them too. I gotta look out for them too, because that's the way it is. They may not get another chance, so I'm hoping they do.

• 30:14Fred Taylor?

  How do the girls feel? They're basically babies. And how have they responded in hearing all of this?

• 30:20Speaker 02

  Aliyah addressed it after the game. She thought that coming into the game, she could not, she wasn't able to play her game. And it was a psychological advantage throughout the game. And did we play our best game? No, I'm not, you know, I'm not, you know, do we do enough to win? We had three turnovers at a crucial time in the fourth quarter that if we convert, you know, we'd probably win the basketball game. Could we play Clark a little bit better? Yes. Could we change strategies and scheme a little bit better? Absolutely. Absolutely, could have done all of those things. So, I'm glad that our players had the WNBA draft to refocus and to get them ready for the next phase of their life.

• 31:05Speaker 02

  And they left me with having to deal with it and trying to navigate through it. But again, you know, it's our game. Like, you win something, you lose something. And I'm not, you know, I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is that's on the other side of it. But our downfall in not being able to complete the season was real good for our game. Like, you know, 9.9 people watched the game. It topped off at 13 million. Now, I can look at ourselves like we the sacrificial lambs of that happening. But it's good for our game. And I'm okay with it. I'm a sore loser, but I get it. Like, I get it, let's bounce back. Sometimes you gotta learn how to lose.

• 31:49Speaker 02

  To win again. And that's how I'm gonna look at it.

• 31:53Channing Crowder?

  Hey Coach, talking about the officiating. And it happens all the time. Because you, college basketball boys, NBA, WNBA.

• 32:01Speaker 02

  Yeah, we lost the Super Bowl because of a call. The Eagles, I'm saying, the Eagles.

• 32:05Channing Crowder?

  That wasn't holding, that was holding.

• 32:17Channing Crowder?

  But Coach, speaking about that, Fred, maybe think about it. With your team, because, address me if I'm wrong about it. I think you recruit tenacious players. I think you go find the girls that, I don't want to say are young Don Staley, but you gotta see something in them. You coach that way. You have a culture of that. You see officiating, that they're not letting y'all play that style of game, that this organization, this team was built around. Can you coach out of that? Because them girls are sitting there looking at you at halftime. Why the hell is everybody have fouls, Coach? What do you do in that situation? Because you've told them that from the day they stepped on this campus.

• 32:52Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, here's the thing. You know, I like to go on long walks. And I went on a long walk Friday mornings. Like, I did. I did, officiating was on my mind. Like it was, it was like, we gotta get the right officials. They gotta call the right, they gotta call the game. They gotta call the game as they called the game all season long. All season long. And if they can do that, then we're good. But I am thinking about, like, they are a part of our game. And you have to game plan for officiating. So yes, do I tell my team, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter what they're calling and how they're calling. We just have to focus on what we can control. You have to mention that.

• 33:36Speaker 02

  And then I don't, I don't mention that to them at all. Now, I will say some things during the game that, what I'm seeing. And I did say that during the game. I'm like, this is, you know, this is not right. Like, seriously, this is not right. And they give you the looks and, and then I know it's not working. So I sat my butt down and I'm gonna put my, put my focus into the game. Like, to our team and how to strategize against that. So. Do I recruit? I recruit who is magnetic to my eyes. They don't all come like these physical specimens. We coach them up to be that way. Like, we have to defend the way we defend because we never know when our offense is not gonna show up. So, yes, we're tough defenders.

• 34:21Speaker 02

  We're physical. We can take it as well. We can take it as well, but we can't take it if we have to succumb to things that we can't dish out. Like, Aliyah Boston got beat down.

• 34:35Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 34:36Speaker 02

  Like, beat down. She wasn't able to move like she normally moves. She's getting hit, and she can take that, too. But when you call two fouls on her...

• 34:45Channing Crowder?

  But then she's on the bench.

• 34:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, and when you call two fouls on her, our defense takes a hit, big time. She's a national Defensive Player of the Year. And our whole strategy behind that, you know, Katelyn was gonna get off, you know? Is, uh, Sonano was the key for us. They're big. Like, we wanted to take away the amount of points that she scores in the paint. Do I think Aliyah's a better defender when she's in that situation than what we had? Yes, I do, because she's smarter. She's been in that situation. She knew exactly how we wanted to play, but she wasn't on the floor to stop that. So, it's our loss. And again, you know, whoever's gonna watch this,

• 35:29Speaker 02

  I'm just talking about how we approach the game, strategizing during the game, and doing the things that we can do to win the game. It's part of just decompressing and figuring out how you move forward. So, I mean, it is what it is. We gotta continue to be who we are. Like, I'm not changing the way I coach because of officiating. I can't do that. I don't know another way to do that.

• 35:55Channing Crowder?

  Same thing you did your whole life.

• 35:56Speaker 02

  That's it.

• 35:57Channing Crowder?

  You take your lemon and make lemonade.

• 35:58Speaker 02

  I'm just gonna have to try to beat them at their game. So, whatever that is, you gotta get ahead of it.

• 36:03Ryan Clark?

  Coach, you mentioned that... The young ladies of your team this year got an opportunity to kind of reset and go into the WNBA draft, which y'all absolutely dominated, and they were fly that night as well. That is an historic recruiting class for you and what they were able to accomplish. What was the moment like to see them be drafted, to dominate the top 10, and understand the type of players you were able to help them become, but also the type of young women?

• 36:36Speaker 02

  I mean, I call myself a dream merchant, and that night, I was full. Like, I was full to see their parents, to see their, you know, their siblings. It is what they've talked about for as long as I've known them. And there was, there was some that I thought, one that would, I thought should have gone a little bit earlier, but didn't, you know, but she, she can handle that. She, she's always one that has to work a little bit harder for things, rebuild, and she'll, she'll handle her situation. There was one that, you know, wanted to, was thinking about transferring last year, that, that ended up coming back. And I'm just like, you're, you're a first-rounder. Like, there's, there's no, and it won't be

• 37:18Speaker 02

  the last year that will determine you being a first round. These, the coaches and GMs of all professional sports are looking at an entire body of work, and they're looking at, you know, what your potential is moving forward. And it was the first time ever, I think ever, that someone that came off the bench was, was a lottery pick.

• 37:40Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 37:41Speaker 02

  First time ever. So, I mean, and then we got the number one pick. So, I, I just think that when, you know, when parents say, "I give you my child," I give you my child, and I take that very, very seriously. And it's my job to figure out how I get them to that place on draft night to get drafted, and I take it personally every single day that I coach them. Every single, sometimes I'm not liked by them, or their parents, because, you know, I make them uncomfortable. It's, it's our job to make them uncomfortable. It's parents' job to, to, to help them. And, and a lot of times, parents... They don't want their daughters to hurt.

• 38:26Speaker 02

  They don't, because they hurt. They grew up, you don't want your, you know, your parents don't want you to grow up like they grew up. So they try to foster getting them in a position of always being comfortable. And I'm just like, nah, like, no, like if you, if you're stinking it up, I'm gonna tell you you're stinking it up.

• 38:42Channing Crowder?

  Right.

• 38:42Speaker 02

  But here's how you don't stink it up. Here's how you correct some of the things. Here's how you become a little more efficient. Here's how you add pro habits to your life every day. Here's, you know, here's how you deal with, you know, having a bad week. It's OK. It's part of your journey to become great. Like, people don't just magically become great. It is the downfalls that allow them to rise above. And that's what happened on, you know, on draft night. They rose above because of the work that they put in.

• 39:18Channing Crowder?

  What's the hardest thing? I don't want to say break, but like, what's the hardest, on or off the court, when you bring these young ladies in, to get them out of so they can be great game coach?

• 39:28Speaker 02

  I would say it's the trust, like trusting, trusting the process.

• 39:34Channing Crowder?

  But you have trust issues.

• 39:36Speaker 02

  I do. And I understand that. And I utilize that to help break down my relationship that I have with players. But I've done that through the recruiting process. Like, I'm inclusive. Like, if our players have, like, one of our players had two or three guys that she used to hang out with, and those were her dudes. And then she got parents, and then she got an agent, and then they want to talk. So I'm like, let's bring your dudes in. Let's bring your agent in. Let's bring your parents in. Let's all sit down and talk.

• 40:11Speaker 02

  I want everybody that has your ear a part of this, a part of what we're trying to do. Because ultimately, we're trying to do the same things. All of us, all of us in the room, we want you to be successful. But I can't have dudes over here that's saying, you know, "Coach is wrong," and "Coach," you know. Dudes, y'all ain't never been nowhere though. Y'all have never done this before. So let's not be supportive, okay? And let's all be in the room. Let's talk about what you believe and how we can get her there. I'm gonna talk about how I think we can get her there. Agents, let's talk about what's needed. Parents, what you need. All of that. So I'm inclusive. So I don't... They don't always want everybody in the same room. But I want that because I need to know who's in your ear.

• 40:56Speaker 02

  I gotta have the biggest voice. Me and your parents have to have the biggest voices in your head because we know. We know what it takes to get you there.

• 41:09Fred Taylor?

  You had five girls drafted. And that's a lot, right? And coaching, recruiting, that processes. You have your own personal life. And the game is evolving, always evolving. And then eventually, they might even start changing some of the rules because of your style of coaching. What's most exciting for you? And how excited are you to get back to it with the unknowns? Like, you got a big rebuild job in front of you. So how excited are you for that?

• 41:40Speaker 02

  Well, I'm super excited because we'll probably play a role in which we'll be hunting rather than being hunted. So it's a different dynamic. Like, we have to build our players up. Like, I mean, the cupboards aren't bare. They're just not as experienced. They haven't had a lot of time being in that role of getting most of the reps and then having to deal with like our coaching staff every day. Like, it's a grind every day to be a starter for us. Like, you gotta be on. Like, as a reserve, you could probably hide behind the starters a little bit and not bring it every day. I mean, we see them, but we also understand it's a process for them.

• 42:26Speaker 02

  So I'm excited about the process of getting this team back to the top. And figuring out...

• 42:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, how all of that works. And keeping them at a place where, you know, they are still hungry. But also gaining some experience to where you gotta be on every day. And that's a really hard spot. So I'm not gonna be liked for, for quite some time by my team. But I'm okay with that.

• 42:55Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 42:55Speaker 02

  I'm not here for you to like me. I'm, I'm here, I'm here to be your dream merchant.

• 43:00Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 43:01Speaker 02

  And to get you where you need to be.

• 43:02Ryan Clark?

  I don't know, Coach. I feel like everybody likes you.

• 43:05Speaker 02

  Nah.

• 43:05Ryan Clark?

  You, you were at the, you were at the spring game. Everybody, everybody loves you at the spring game. Dancing, having a great time. Uh, the women's coaches that you've given a part of your championship net to. And then to have Coach Barnes win and have all of those things. And I mean, there were actual segments just about your gear. You're like the Louis Vuitton diva now. You know, but I, I do have a-

• 43:30Channing Crowder?

  I see. You know the saying, can't hide money.

• 43:32Ryan Clark?

  Can't, you cannot hide money, Coach. Stay clean. But also, Coach, in your dress, not only whether it's Louis or however you dress, uh, representing Yolanda Laney with the Cheney State jersey or Brittany Griner. And when she was going through being detained in Russia. When it comes to your style and kind of the way you interact, which I think is the reason players around the country went ask, say, "Yeah, I wanna play for Coach Staley because I can relate to those things." Do you put a lot of thought into what you're gonna wear on game day? Or you just come out clean?

• 44:07Speaker 02

  No, I, I put some thought into it. I mean, I'm not, I'm not driven by it. Like, I, I like themes. Like, I like to stick with themes. Um, I like Louis right now. I, I like different stuff. Like, I like, I like to support people in how I dress. Like, the Cheney State, Yolanda, she's from Philly. Um, and Coach Stringer's been a, you know, she's been iconic for, for our game. And I had some sweats that, that didn't go with anything besides that jersey. So it was just kind of- And then I like the support. I like to support black designers. Like I wore Rich Fresh. I got a chance to meet him when I did the Affleck commercial. And I'm like, you know, let me, let me, let me put Rich on.

• 44:51Speaker 02

  Because he, you know, to read his story, you know, he was living out his car. And, and just needed a shot. Like, I like to hear stories about that. And if I can, if I can push them to being successful, I'm gonna do that. Eagles jerseys, I got, they, they gave me a hard time. Like, you know, people give me a hard time about, you know, wearing what I wear on the sideline. They do, they do. Cause I wore, I wore a couple of Eagles jerseys leading up to the Super Bowl and on Super Bowl. And I don't wear enough of our school colors. Like, it's our fans. Like, we don't wear enough of our school colors. You know, but I think we should just have fun with it. It's, it's an opportunity for us to grow our sport and grow things that are near and dear to us. And I, I'm not, again, I'm not gonna stop.

• 45:36Speaker 02

  I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm over 50. And once you reach, you know, that platform, you know, your life becomes lean. Stuff doesn't matter. Like, little, simple stuff doesn't, it doesn't matter. Like, I'm gonna be who I am. I'm my mother's child. I didn't like my mother growing up because she had rules. She was strict. She was disciplinarian. But now I find myself more like her. And I do attribute my success with being a disciplined person.

• 46:06Ryan Clark?

  Chan, I mean, she's talking about being 50. She should probably just call Fred and talk to him about when he was going through it. You know, once he, once he hit 50.

• 46:15Channing Crowder?

  But how old's 50 for you?

• 46:17Fred Taylor?

  So, check this out. So, not quite there yet, but I'm, I'm sneaking up on it. But we do have stuff in common. She was the ninth pick in the first round. Y'all might not know number. I know, I talk about it all the time.

• 46:30Ryan Clark?

  Oh, here he go.

• 46:31Fred Taylor?

  Don't worry about it. I love y'all.

• 46:33Speaker 05

  We got drafted early.

• 46:36Fred Taylor?

  Well, no, Coach, in recent years, you also spoke about inclusion, you know, underserved minorities in coaching. Can you speak to that a little bit?

• 46:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I got an opportunity because somebody saw something in me that I really did not see in myself in being a coach. And if you're in the game long enough, I just finished my 23rd year being a coach. If you're in it long enough, and again, I'm a, you know, loner. I just kind of put my blinders on and I just, I just worry about myself. But when you're in it for 23 years, you see what happens. You know, you see the, you know, the cycle of black coaches getting opportunities to run their own programs. And they're, they get an opportunity. And if they're successful, they'll continue. If they're not, you know,

• 47:29Speaker 02

  they're forever assistant coaches, you know, and we don't ever get a chance to fail. Again, I think a lot of times, it's in the women's game. Like, men recycle.

• 47:43Speaker 00

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.

• 47:53Speaker 00

  Ask your prescriber about Wegovy. Semaglutide injection, 2.4 milligrams a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-WEGOVIE or visit wegovie.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wegovy. Why wait?

• 48:12Speaker 02

  They recycle. They get, they get opportunities. I don't probably know as much about black male coaches getting the opportunities in their space, but I'm sure it's pretty much the same.

• 48:24Fred Taylor?

  And even in our sport.

• 48:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, NFL, it's hard. It's really hard. So, somebody has to say it.

• 48:31Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 48:32Speaker 02

  I'm getting more questions regarding that because of where I sit. Like, 20 years ago, 10 years ago, I wasn't being asked these questions because we weren't as successful. But now, when you become successful, you, you know, you got a platform. And I'm gonna shout it. I'm gonna shout it. We don't get, we don't get opportunities because the people who are decision makers aren't black.

• 48:54Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 48:55Speaker 02

  So... I get that too. Because when I get an opportunity, I'm looking at people that I relate to. And I'm not mad at it, but at some point, it has to change. Because we are, we are in a space where, you know, there are a lot of black, young, young people in college and at the pros. So, all of the above, why not give? And it's not that you're giving someone an opportunity, okay? Because they've worked for it. It's not like they're sitting on their hands. They've worked. They've been players. They've been coaches for decades, assistant coaches. So, give them an opportunity to fail and stick with them. Like, who was it? Is it the Tampa Bay coach? Buccaneers?

• 49:40Ryan Clark?

  Uh, Tom Bowles.

• 49:42Speaker 02

  Yeah, how many, I mean, how many years he get?

• 49:44Ryan Clark?

  This is his first year being there. Uh, it's the Houston Texans. The Houston Texans just hired two black men back to back and fired them after one year.

• 49:52Fred Taylor?

  Maybe you've also, or might be talking about Byron too, being the offensive coordinator for, for the year after the Super Bowl, he got fired. Let's watch.

• 49:59Speaker 02

  Like, why? So, I, I do think we need to bring stuff to the forefront and ask the uncomfortable questions. I, I don't think we're gonna get the answers, but if we, if we talk about it enough, it's possible that we get the answers.

• 50:15Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 50:15Speaker 02

  As to why we don't get as many opportunities. So, I'm gonna scream it to the top of my lungs until, until it changes. Or, or furthermore, I'm gonna mentor, because I do a lot of mentoring. A, a lot, like a ton of it. And that's the way we have to help them navigate. So, they're ready, they're ready for when the opportunity comes.

• 50:35Fred Taylor?

  You have an opportunity to talk to Tina before she took the job at your, oh, oh, alma mater? Tina Thompson?

• 50:40Speaker 02

  A little bit. I had an opportunity to talk to the A.D.

• 50:43Fred Taylor?

  Okay.

• 50:44Speaker 02

  That was a time that I turned it down. Because I, I, you know, she came after me for that position. And then she had some names and Tina was one of them.

• 50:52Channing Crowder?

  Hey, Coach, we know, we, we know you, you short on time. We gonna let you go. You might have an appointment at the Louis though. But.

• 50:59Channing Crowder?

  What time they open around here?

• 51:02Channing Crowder?

  But, no, just listening to you, and it's funny that Champ came in here.

• 51:05Speaker 02

  Hmm.

• 51:06Channing Crowder?

  Because when talking about off the court, only thing you, you reveal to people is you have a dog named Champ.

• 51:11Speaker 02

  Uh huh.

• 51:12Channing Crowder?

  Then you said none of your trophies at your house. Is, is that all strategic? Do you not? It's funny, I asked Stephen A. Smith the same thing, and he told me, Fly, that's none of your damn business. You purposely keep your personal life super personal?

• 51:25Speaker 02

  I mean, I don't really do anything. Like, I don't do, like, I don't do any-

• 51:30Channing Crowder?

  You vacation, I'm sure, you know, significant others, something.

• 51:34Speaker 02

  Sometimes, no, I don't, I like, I, I live a real simplistic life, like, right, like, the reason why I was late coming here?

• 51:44Speaker 02

  I was at the courthouse looking at a murder trial, like, just in attendance. I'm looking at the witnesses and, um, like, and it got good, right when I had to come here. Like, it got real good.

• 51:59Channing Crowder?

  Coach.

• 52:00Speaker 02

  And I'm like-

• 52:00Channing Crowder?

  You hang at the courthouse?

• 52:02Speaker 02

  I know the judge. Like, I enjoy that.

• 52:05Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 52:06Speaker 02

  I enjoy, I'm a little morbid when it comes to stuff like, like, like that, like, forensic files and trials and all of that stuff. I'm, I'm really into that.

• 52:15Channing Crowder?

  Oh, okay.

• 52:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, so.

• 52:17Channing Crowder?

  But most people watch, like, Lifetime, or they watch True Crimes. Not many people actually go to the court cases, though.

• 52:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's, it's a new experience for me. Like, it's a new, like, I, you know, I watch, y'all, were y'all tuned into the Murdoch case?

• 52:34Channing Crowder?

  I was.

• 52:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, so the, the judge that presided, Judge Newman, is presiding over this murder case. So I, he told me there was a murder case coming up. I'm like, where? Right up the street? I was like, I'm there. I'm there. I'm gonna be there after our workout. We got a little workout that we gotta get in, and I'm going back.

• 52:53Channing Crowder?

  Coach, don't go distracting people trying to get that man off of murder. If I'm trying to, if I'm, if I'm arguing and I see Coach Staley, I'm not arguing as good anymore. Like, damn, that's Coach over there.

• 53:04Speaker 02

  I mean, I, I did ask the judge if I, if I would be a distraction.

• 53:08Channing Crowder?

  Oh, okay.

• 53:08Speaker 02

  And then I did sit on the defense side, right? And I'm like, does it look like I'm supporting? Like, I, I had all these questions, like, and then I'm just like, looking at the jury, I'm thinking, you know, please don't let me be a distraction, because I, I just wanted, I just wanted to hear, like, I wanted, it's, it's like, it's strategy. So I'm, I'm, I'm interested in the strategy. And it was cool, though, because this dude was like, he had a good question. He, the jury wasn't there. He was like-

• 53:39Speaker 02

  Judge, I can't even see the monitor. Like, there was a, there's a monitor that just faced the jury. And I'm sitting behind him, and he can't see what they're talking about. So, they went into these arguments, and then they actually got another monitor that I could see today. Like, I saw the, I saw everything that was happening, and I'm just like, just stimulated. Like, I'm like, but I'm like, I gotta leave, I gotta...

• 54:07Fred Taylor?

  Appreciate that. We appreciate the call.

• 54:10Speaker 02

  It's cool, though, it's like that, yeah, I get a rise out of that, like, I'm...

• 54:14Channing Crowder?

  The weirdest hobby I've ever heard in my life.

• 54:17Ryan Clark?

  You said I needed a hobby? I ain't taking up that one.

• 54:20Channing Crowder?

  I'm getting on him about hobbies, but you good, honestly?

• 54:23Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I don't do that. Coach, I don't know if you've ever met Mike Tomlin.

• 54:27Speaker 02

  I haven't, I've watched him a lot.

• 54:29Ryan Clark?

  But if you, I would pay good money to sit and watch you two just have a conversation about coaching and leadership. You mentioned that people look at you because of the place that you sit. It's not because you sit there and you haven't earned it, you've earned that spot. But, he has a saying, that he always say when we played together, or when I, when he coached me, "The standard is the standard." You have now become the standard. And from The Pivot, and from everybody who watches our show, thank you so much for the time, I'm glad you were able to leave the court case. But best of luck to you, and I'm just gonna...

• 55:07Speaker 02

  The Pivot is a great, it's a great name. Cause we all gotta pivot.

• 55:14Fred Taylor?

  Yes.

• 55:14Speaker 02

  We, we all, like, I gotta pivot right now, we lost, I gotta pivot. I always, I always talk about pivoting. Pivoting, I, I talk, the, the, sometimes the decision makers of our game, women's basketball, need to pivot. Cause they stick with the same narrative all the time, even when it doesn't fit. So pivoting is a cool, cool-ass title that, that we all, every single person has to do in their lives.

• 55:45Fred Taylor?

  Coach, we always include, our slogan is, "Accept, Adjust, and Move Forward."

• 55:52Fred Taylor?

  That's what it is. So appreciate your time.

• 55:54Ryan Clark?

  Well, I'm gonna be really honest here, Coach. My dad, the first women's basketball player my dad ever pointed out to me was you. And Shannon likes my dad more than he likes me. Right? And he said, he's like, that's what playing point guard is. And then I became a huge fan of yours through watching you coach and all of those things. And so, I'm gonna be honest, the final four game against Iowa was a tough one for me. Because as a fan of Dawn Staley and your team, I was rooting for you in my heart, somewhere down there. But in my mind, as an LSU alum, I said, if we play them again, they gonna beat us by 20. And when the buzzer went off, I said, so you saying we got a chance? But thank you so much.

• 56:38Speaker 02

  I can think that. I can think that. I can think that.

• 56:40Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate you, Coach.

• 56:41Speaker 02

  I can think that.

• 56:42Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I was like, man, we in there.

• 56:43Fred Taylor?

  We usually, I know I tried to rap a few times, and we usually ask everyone, what's their biggest pivot in life?

• 56:50Speaker 02

  My biggest pivot? Like, I'm at my best when I was at my worst. Like, I think I was at my worst because we didn't win the national championship. Like, now, like...

• 57:01Fred Taylor?

  Kind of like a reset?

• 57:02Speaker 02

  It is. It is. Especially when people don't think, you know, that we gonna be where we were. So, yeah, that's it.

• 57:11Ryan Clark?

  Coach, I heard something. I saw something.

• 57:13Speaker 02

  The way you break football down, you make me think I know what I'm talking about. Oh, congratulations. Like, you break it down. Now, I couldn't repeat it, but I understand it when you're saying it.

• 57:27Ryan Clark?

  Thank you. Appreciate that.

• 57:28Speaker 02

  Seriously. Yes.

• 57:30Ryan Clark?

  I was about to ask you another question, though. Coach, you said in, was it 96, when you got the gold medal? You supposed to go hoop, right? Right after, ABL or something like that?

• 57:41Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 57:41Ryan Clark?

  I read somewhere, you told somebody that was your lowest point after winning a gold medal?

• 57:45Speaker 02

  I didn't even know. My body, I mean, my head was in a different place because I got my lifelong dream.

• 57:54Speaker 02

  And I'm just like, okay, like, alright, I got it. Like, what else is there to get? And it took me a while to just kind of decompress. I think I was a little depressed. And that's not something that, that's something that I don't, you know, I don't really say out loud. But I couldn't, I could not function. Like, I could not, I didn't know, I didn't want to pick up a basketball. I didn't want to play. I wasn't competitive. And I think I just needed to decompress. Because like, two weeks later, I was back at it. But the moment that I got the gold medal, I'm just like, okay, what else is? I got my lifelong dream.

• 58:35Speaker 00

  That's crazy.

• 58:35Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 58:37Fred Taylor?

  Mike P told me to tell you what's up.

• 58:39Speaker 02

  Mike P?

• 58:40Fred Taylor?

  Mike Peterson.

• 58:41Speaker 02

  Oh, okay, yeah, I know Mike. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's in Florida now.

• 58:44Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, he is back at home, in Gainesville. He's back at home, yeah. Yeah, I told him we were here, he's like, oh, she a real one, boy. You know, I said, yeah. Yeah. Well, appreciate it, Coach. Thank you. Good luck.

• 58:55Speaker 02

  Thank y'all. Appreciate it.

• 58:56Channing Crowder?

  My wife don't even watch sports.

• 58:57Speaker 02

  Really?

• 58:58Channing Crowder?

  And I was like, yeah, I'm going to South Carolina. She said, who? I said, Don Stacey.

• 59:02Fred Taylor?

  Yeah. You got the same thing at home.

• 59:04Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna tell her.

• 59:07Channing Crowder?

  She know exactly who we talking about. Yeah, I'm gonna tell her.