STALEY, Dawn

(b. 4 May 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), professional basketball point guard and two-time Olympic gold medalist; head coach of the Temple University women's basketball team.

Staley was one of five children born to Clarence Staley and Estelle Staley and grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects of Philadelphia. She began her career on a court "on the corner of Twenty-fifth and Diamond," often playing with her brothers. At Dobbins Vocational Technical High School, Staley led the Lady Mustangs and as a senior was awarded National Player of the Year. Her high school career scoring average was 33.1 points per game.

As a collegiate basketball star at University of Virginia, Staley led the Lady Cavaliers to four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments, three NCAA Final Four appearances, and three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tournament titles. Standing at just five feet, five inches tall, she achieved a college-career scoring average of 18.5 points per game. She won the Naismith Award in 1991 and 1992, making her one of only three other women—Cheryl Miller, Clarissa Davis, and Chamique Holdsclaw—to win the award multiple times. She was named National Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992, and was a three-time Kodak All-American and a two-time All-American. She was also named most outstanding player of the 1991 Final Four. Staley's number 24 jersey was retired on 20 April 1993, making her one of just three Virginia Cavaliers who have had their numbers retired.

Prior to the WNBA and the ABL, Dawn began her professional career in Segovia, Spain, during the 1992–1993 season. She spent the 1993–1994 season playing with four different teams in Italy, France, Brazil, and Spain, then played in Tarbes, France, in the 1994–1995 season. During the 1997 and 1998 seasons, she played for the Richmond Rage of the American Basketball League (ABL) and was selected as an All-ABL player. After the ABL folded, Staley was signed by the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) on 31 August 1998 and joined the Charlotte (North Carolina) Sting in 1999. In 1999 she received the WNBA Sportsmanship Award. As a starting guard with the Sting, Staley averaged thirteen points per game during her first three seasons. At the end of the 2001 season, she ranked third in the WNBA in assists per game.

In 1994 Staley joined the U.S. Women's National Team to increase her strength and conditioning for the 1996 Olympics. She played on gold medal–winning U.S. Women's National Teams during the 1994 Goodwill Games, the 1998 World Championship, the 1999 U.S. Olympic Cup, and the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games. The 1998 USA Women's World Championship Team was named the USA Basketball Team of the Year due in large part to Staley's all time World Championship assist record of fifty-two. Her travel and preparations for the 2000 Olympic games were chronicled in monthly installments of Sports Illustrated for Women.

On 12 April 2000 Staley replaced Kristen Foley as head coach of the Lady Owls at Temple University in Philadelphia. During her first season, the team posted their first winning season since 1989–1990 with eighteen wins and nine losses. The success of the Temple Owls under the leadership of Coach Staley earned them a third seed in the 2001 Atlantic Ten Conference championships.

Staley is a successful community activist in her home-town of Philadelphia, where she established the Dawn Staley Foundation. Her philanthropic activities with the foundation, which include after-school care and tutorials in academics and basketball, have garnered recognition from the American Red Cross, which in 1998 awarded Staley its Cross Spectrum Award, which celebrates women who have made outstanding contributions to their communities. She was also presented with the 1999 WNBA Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for the good work and community outreach sponsored through the Dawn Staley Foundation.

From her humble beginnings in the Philadelphia projects to basketball stardom, from collegiate coaching to inner-city activism, Staley has never stopped reaching for excellence. Her life is a testimony to her will to succeed. In 1996 a seven-story mural of Staley was painted on the side of a building at the corner of Eighth and Market Streets in Philadelphia overlooking her neighborhood to celebrate her accomplishments as the hometown favorite.

For more information on Staley, see Morgan G. Brenner, College Basketball's National Championship: The Complete Record of Every Tournament Ever Played, vol. 13 (1998), and Sara Corbett, Venus to the Hoop: A Gold Medal Year in Women's Basketball (1997). See also articles in Sports Illustrated (July 2000), Hoop (June 2001), and the Orlando Sentinel (16 July 2001). A profile of Staley is on the official WNBA website at <http://www.wnba.com>.

Faye Hall Jackson