“Always prepared, strategic and thoughtful” – When Dawn Staley gave legendary coach Tara Vanderveer her flowers.

Dawn Staley, Tara VanDerveer (Image Credits: IMAGN)

Dawn Staley played under Tara VanDerveer for the 1996 Olympics along with the 1994 FIBA World Cup and the 1991 World University Games. During this period, the South Carolina coach learned valuable lessons in coaching from the former Stanford coach, whose record for most career wins(1,216) was broken by UConn coach Geno Auriemma on Nov. 20.

During her Hall of Fame Induction speech in 2013, Dawn Staley recalled her time working with VanDerveer and expressed her gratitude.

“Teresa Edwards and Katrina McClain were our veterans, and they took it all in stride, while the rest of us swore Tara VanDerveer, our coach, was out to kill us,” Staley said. (5:30) “What Tara did was genuine. It was genius.”

“She made us depend on each other and in doing so she took a group of individuals’ talent and molded us into a team with one goal to win gold; silver was not an option. Always prepared, strategic and thoughtful, Tara changed the way I approach the game. I hope she noticed my change and realized she was a big part of it.”

Dawn Staley continued to seek out Tara VanDerveer’s help in the years after. One standout incident was on Nov. 26, 2010, when Stanford won 70-32 over South Carolina. After the game, Staley invited VanDerveer to the Gamecocks’ locker room to give a post-game pep talk.

Tara VanDerveer once stopped Dawn Staley from taking a coaching job

In 1999, Dawn Staley began playing in the WNBA and a year later, she was offered a head coach role at Temple University. Caught in the middle, she sought her mentor’s help.

“I remember her saying, ‘Don’t do it,’” Staley recalled in 2021 (via SF Chronicle). “When she said that, it was magnetic. I said, ‘I’ve got to take this job.’ And for me, I need some type of a chip. I think Tara saying that gave me a little chip on my shoulder to kind of prove her wrong.”

“I thank her,” Staley added. “Twenty-one years later, making that decision has been the most gratifying decision of all.”

Staley joined Temple in 2000 and was balancing both coaching and the WNBA until 2006. She then moved to South Carolina in 2008.

After 38 years of coaching the Stanford Cardinal, Tara VanDerveer retired in April. Meanwhile, Dawn Staley is attempting to lead her South Carolina team to their second straight national championship win.