Dawn Staley

Caitlin Clark is a superstar.

When I was growing up in the projects in Philadelphia in the 1970s and 80s, Cadillac was the car to have. But I always wanted a Mercedes.

I have a passion for my car, and passion is the thing that drives us, that puts us in the position to achieve happiness. My car makes me happy.

I loved sports, but I excelled at basketball. We'd nail an old crate onto a wooden board and that was our basket and backboard. My claim to fame was my bank shot into the crate.

I'm better at accomplishing things on my own instead of telling others how to do it. But I'm getting better.

You can literally watch women's basketball all the time, between colleges, the WNBA and the Olympics. You can see the best of women's basketball. But it's not just about the highest levels: you can find women's basketball in your communities and high schools and parks down the street.

I had a disciplined mother. I had friends who made sure, you know, they said, 'You've got a shot.' I had people in my life who helped me navigate.

Sometimes people make things difficult and complicated, but if you are consistent, focus on what makes you successful, take notes along the way, and work on the things that you need to improve, good things happen.

If young people come to play for you, you have to give them your all, give them their wants and needs.

I'm never scared.

Here's the thing about imagination. It gives you an opportunity to dream, no matter, you know, how outlandish my dreams were. Like, I thought I was going to play in the NBA. I was a Sixers fan. I knew everything about the Sixers. I thought I was going to be their next point guard after Maurice Cheeks took us to a 1983 championship.

I love hard, and I show tough love.

If you can bring out the best in people, the success will follow.

My dad, Clarence, was a construction worker who fixed cars on the side. He'd repair them in the street where I played sports.

My communication with A'ja was always less about basketball. I tried to be a place where she could let her guard down and just be.

As a point guard, you know, the point guard is the position on the floor that really runs it. You're the conductor. You're the coach out there on the floor. You're the extension of the coach that's on the sideline.

When men fail, they get a second chance - as women, and especially as Black women, we have to fight for every chance.

I have a reputation out there that I'm hard to play for.

I understand that my success isn't about championships - it's about bringing together people who were once, and in some ways still are, divided. It's bigger than basketball.

Some of my earliest lessons in perseverance were being turned away from the basketball court by the guys in the neighborhood when all I wanted to do was play. With persistence, I found I could wear them down and get out on the court.

If there were ever a secret to being a great coach, that's it: the connection. I need to have a personal relationship with each player.

I grew up in the projects in North Philly. And when you grow up in the projects in North Philly, no one thinks you're going to amount to anything. Like, seriously.

When you're in sports, you're around somebody for a really long time. You're with these people. You travel with them. You eat together. When you spend as much time with someone on a team, you really get to know them - good, bad or indifferent. But you come together on the court for a common goal.

Nothing in life is going to be smooth sailing.

Sometimes you just need a little push every now and then to keep going, even when the odds are stacked against you.

Aside from their talent, a prerequisite of us actually recruiting a young lady is their relationship with their parents because if they respect their parents, they're going to respect us. If they don't respect their parents, we don't have a shot.

For me, you know, the projects was a way of life. Like, I didn't see myself as poor. Like, my family didn't see ourselves as poor. I mean, we saw themselves as working-class people who worked hard, you know? Like, I grew up in the projects, but the lawns in my block were - you know, were maintained. They were - I mean, it was incredibly clean.

I was 29 years old. I was still playing professional basketball. And then I get this opportunity, you know, of coaching. And I was probably more afraid of being responsible for young people that's closer to my age than anything. So the responsibility part of it really just frightened me just a little bit.

I hope every school or university treats women's sports like South Carolina.

I govern my life, being a leader, a coach, a colleague, on how something looks, feels and sounds. If something looks or sounds or feels wrong, I'm going to say something. I can't not say anything. And then the same, if something looks, sounds or feels great, like, I give it the same energy the other way.

As a young person, I didn't really talk. I was the youngest of five kids, so I sat back and observed. Once I got older, I started figuring out the things that have to be said.

I think I'm very consistent with who I am.

I cringe at spotlight. I want our game to shine. And I want the people in our game to shine, all of them - players, coaches, fans.

You're going to have more A'ja Wilsons, you're going to have more Breanna Stewarts. You're going to have more and more because if you're growing up around watching the WNBA and watching what college women's basketball is today, you're going to be better because of it.

If I said this once, I've said this a thousand times, our game has been held back for such a long time. And now we are bursting through the seams because we have talent, both experienced and some youngsters that are household names.

I felt a great deal of pressure to win because I'm a Black coach. Because if we don't win, then you bring in... just scrutiny. Like, 'You can't coach, you had enough to get it done but yet you failed.'

My cup runneth over when it comes to what the game has given to me, so I am forever in debt in trying to repay the game.

I still clap back at people who troll me on social media. I can't help myself but I'm working on it. But every once in a while I get perspective, and I remember why I fight so hard.

I'm not the one to back down and I don't give up, and believe me, I'm not perfect.

I try my best to do things in the right way, knowing that some little girl is out there watching me. Maybe she's growing up in the projects of north Philly like I did, or maybe she's in a rural town somewhere.

Using my platform is an awesome responsibility, but it's a responsibility that was divinely bestowed on me, and I graciously accept it.

I don't coach to win awards, I really don't. I'm very, very satisfied with just being there for my players.

A'ja allowed me to be a part of her open book. Honestly, I didn't know the depths of where she could go. I get the points, the rebounds, the blocks. But the pull she has on this community? Women's basketball overall?

I'm more of a person that likes to tackle things head on, not work around disabilities or shortcomings.

It's not often you see great players just improve year after year after year.

I want to help people. I'm a dream merchant by nature.

Special teams have great players that are unselfish. Great players that are our hardest workers, our most intelligent people from a basketball perspective. We've got coaches who prepare us. We've got a crowd that supports us every night.

I'm of the opinion of, if you're a woman, you should play. If you consider yourself a woman, and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play. That's my opinion.

I always thank God for the wins and losses.