It was an fascinating offseason for Daybreak Staley.
The three-time nationwide champion head coach of South Carolina was a candidate for the New York Knicks teaching job after Tom Thibodeau was fired in early June. She interviewed with the Knicks entrance workplace this summer season, however New York determined to rent longtime NBA coach Mike Brown.
At SEC media days Tuesday, Staley was requested whether or not she anticipated a lady to be employed as an NBA head coach in her lifetime. She isn’t optimistic.
“I don’t,” Staley stated. “And I hope I’m improper.”
When interviewing for the Knicks place, Staley was appreciative that president Leon Rose and government vp William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley acknowledged the issues of hiring a feminine coach for the place. In contrast to a conventional candidate, there could be heightened scrutiny for Staley and different ladies who discover themselves in that place. A company seeking to make this sort of rent wants to take a look at the method in a different way.
“It’s not simply hiring the primary feminine coach,” Staley stated. “As a result of one, if I’m the Knicks coach and you’ve got a five-game dropping streak, it’s not going to be concerning the dropping streak. It’s going to be about being a feminine coach. So that you as a company and a franchise, you need to be ready about that and powerful sufficient to endure these kinds of situations whenever you’re a feminine coach.”
Staley was additionally requested about her particular person need to be a trailblazer as a feminine head coach in males’s basketball areas.
“Probably not an entire lot,” Staley stated. “I did the Knicks interview as a result of I’ve identified Leon Rose for 30 years. I’ve a connection to him and Worldwide Wes. I’ve identified all of them my life. It was an actual interview, and I prefer to see what they’re speaking about.”
In her response, Staley urged her colleagues to hunt her recommendation when pursuing teaching alternatives within the NBA and males’s school basketball.
“If there’s anyone that’s fascinated by understanding and being the primary feminine NBA coach, I received all the knowledge,” Staley stated. “Come see me as a result of I’ll get you ready for the interview. If there are NBA franchises which might be fascinated by hiring a feminine, I’m right here too as a result of you need to be able to tackle that and all of the issues that include it.”
Staley now turns her consideration to her 18th season at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 2 within the Related Press preseason ballot behind defending champion UConn. This system introduced this week that All-America honorable point out Chloe Kitts will miss the complete season with a torn ACL.
