CLEVELAND — In the biggest moment of all, the one right after the third national title of her career, Dawn Staley didn’t just want to talk about that.
Standing on the on-court stage, with the confetti flying and the national TV cameras rolling, Staley made a point of centering the WNBA.
Star center Kamilla Cardoso, Staley said, “played like one of the top picks in the WNBA draft.”
Then Staley proclaimed that Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark’s spotlight “is not going to stop here on the collegiate tour, but when she is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, she is going to lift that league up as well.”
This was quite something to hear. Isn’t winning a college title supposed to be an end in itself? Especially one of the most remarkable you’ll see, a perfect 38-0 season after losing five draft-pick players?
It would be for countless teams, big and small.
But Staley knew the truth: in basketball, the pros should be bigger. They’ve long been in the men’s game, as her native Philadelphia knows well. Now it’s time for that to be true of the women’s game, too.
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“We have to grow our game, and we have to bridge the gap between college and the WNBA,” Staley told The Inquirer after the court had quieted to just the confetti-cleaners, the chair-removers, and some friends and journalists.
“I think our fans do it — our fans follow our players from South Carolina throughout wherever they end up. But we’ve got to continue to bridge that gap. College coaches have to talk about it, anybody has to really get on their bullhorn and talk about what’s happening in our game.”
When the Indiana Fever call Clark’s name next Monday, she’ll rightly garner tons of attention. But there have been many big-time players in WNBA’s 28-year history, from Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson these days to Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie in the early ones.
Who would know that better than Staley herself? After playing three years in the defunct ABL, she was a WNBA stalwart from 1999-2006, beginning her coaching career concurrently at Temple in 2000.
Clark knows her share of history too, from C. Vivian Stringer’s pioneering years at Iowa to the rest of the game. When told of Staley’s remarks, she was moved.
“I think any time someone like Coach Staley is able to recognize you and what you did for the game, it’s pretty special,” Clark said. “And obviously, she’s someone I respect so much. I respect what she’s done for South Carolina, I respect what she did as a player for our game.”
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, now in her 24th year at the Hawkeyes’ helm, knew, too.
