Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
These days, both Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson and South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley have established themselves at the peak of their respective professions.
But back in the late 2010s, both Wilson and Staley were fighting to establish themselves as stars with the Gamecocks. Wilson helped Staley win her first NCAA championship in 2017, when she was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
She followed that up by winning the John Wooden Award a year later and went No. 1 overall in the 2018 WNBA Draft.
Fast forward eight years, and Wilson is a four-time WNBA MVP and three-time champion, while Staley has made six straight Final Four appearances and added two more championships to her resume.
The two have maintained a close relationship, even after Wilson took a subtle jab at her former coach late last year.
A’ja Wilson Thinks Dawn Staley Has Gone Soft
Wilson appeared on Kylie Kelcie’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast in November and said that things have changed at South Carolina between the time she left and now.
And she’s not necessarily sure it’s for the better!
“She’s gotten soft. It’s ridiculous how soft she’s gotten because one when we were in school we couldn’t have phones on game days. We had to literally spend a whole day without our phones and go to classes,” Wilson said.
“I remember her calling me like, ‘Charmin, oh, you’re just soft; the SEC needs to rough you up’ and I’m like, ‘Now you’re Charmin; these kids got you doing TikToks; you’re dancing.”
Dawn Staley Says A’ja Wilson Has Gone Soft Too!
Since that point, Staley went on to lead the Gamecocks to another Final Four, which was highlighted by a mid-court showdown with legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
But now that Staley has had some time to settle down in the offseason, she’s issued her response to Wilson’s claim.
“Have I gotten softer? I’ve gotten smarter, right,” Staley said during a recent media appearance.
“Because you can’t allow them to beat you at their game, I’m beating them at their game. A’ja [Wilson’s] probably gotten softer too…now that she got a man, right? She got a little softer. But I will say this – I really enjoy young people. I enjoy taking the journey with them for them finding themselves. And it’s such a cool process and a cool dynamic helping them find out who they really are.”
It appears that the jabs between Wilson and Staley are all in good fun. But it sure seems that both have gotten softer since their days together at South Carolina, although that might be for the best.