Dawn Staley Shares a Private Discussion with A’ja Wilson’s Mom After South Carolina’s Struggling Start.
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson won two WNBA championships within her first seven seasons, but reaching that level of success didn’t happen overnight.
Her college coach, Dawn Staley, agrees. Coming into college, Wilson was seen as a top prospect, but her debut for Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks was underwhelming—she scored just four points and shot 2-for-7 from the field.
“She started her debut, and it was terrible,” Staley recalled on Thursday’s episode of “The Breakfast Club,” describing Wilson’s performance as “scrub-like.” Wilson’s family shared similar feelings about her disappointing start.
“It took some time where they were like, ugh,” Staley added.
After that rough first game, Staley knew she had to move Wilson out of the starting lineup and chose to inform Wilson’s mother first. She also anticipated criticism due to Wilson’s status as one of the nation’s top prospects.
“Her mom was like, ‘You sure?’ and I’m like, ‘You’re going to have to trust me on this one,’” Staley said.
Bench time turned out to be the best move. Over her next 14 games, Wilson found her rhythm and scored at least 10 points in each. Notably, she put up 23 points against Savannah State in December 2014.
“By the end of her freshman year, she was National Rookie of the Year, first team All-SEC, and SEC Rookie of the Year,” Staley continued. “She earned all those honors coming off the bench.”
According to Staley, Wilson’s growth came from trusting her coach.
“Young people believe in you,” Staley said. “When that trust was mutual, I believed in her and knew she’d lead us to the next level.”
Staley’s faith was justified—Wilson led South Carolina to its first national championship in 2016-17 and was named SEC Player of the Year in 2017-18. But getting Wilson to that point required some tough love.
“She needed to be roughed up a little bit to prepare her for what she’d face,” Staley explained.
Staley believes Wilson is now ready to handle the criticism that comes with being a professional athlete, having experienced it during her college years.
“Now she handles all the critics,” Staley said. “But I know she can because we took her through it all.”
