Daybreak Staley shocked Southern College’s ladies’s basketball workforce with a small however significant gesture — a style of luxurious.
Recent off their 65-53 First 4 win over Samford, the Woman Jaguars have been met with an surprising go to from the South Carolina head coach forward of their NCAA Match matchup. However Staley didn’t come empty-handed. She introduced items: samples of her signature Louis Vuitton perfume, giving every participant a tangible glimpse of the usual she’s set on the prime of the game.
For an HBCU program, the gesture landed as extra than simply considerate. It was a reminder of what visibility, funding, and care can appear like, even in the midst of March Insanity.
“Her being right here, getting to listen to the phrases she had for our workforce, it was simply nice,” Southern guard Mykayla Cunningham mentioned. “It’s nice that she took the day trip as a result of she’s a really busy lady.”
The second didn’t distract from the truth forward. Cunningham famous that Staley was nonetheless each bit the competitor, watching intently and making ready as any elite coach would.
“She’s sensible,” Cunningham added. “She sat and watched the sport. Wrote down notes about each groups; she’s going to be ready. And that’s how we’ve to return out and be ready in opposition to her.”
The steadiness between pouring into gamers and making ready to beat them is a part of what has outlined Staley’s legacy.
Southern head coach Carlos Funchess stored his give attention to the problem in entrance of his workforce.
“In terms of South Carolina, in fact, we simply need to exit and compete,” he mentioned. “Play our recreation and attempt to do one of the best that we are able to. … I like my children — they’re going to provide you 100% each evening.”
Nonetheless, the importance of Staley’s gesture extends past one recreation.
A proud HBCU alum of Cheyney College, Staley has lengthy used her platform to uplift HBCU packages — from scheduling matchups in opposition to them to advocating for better respect in how they’re seeded and supported. Beneath her management, South Carolina has shared the courtroom with colleges like Norfolk State and Coppin State, serving to to deliver broader visibility to packages which can be usually neglected.
Saturday’s matchup marks the primary time South Carolina will face Southern College, including one other layer to a second already wealthy with which means. For the Woman Jaguars, it’s a chance to signify not simply their program, however the broader HBCU group on one of many sport’s greatest phases.
And earlier than the sport even begins, they’ll carry with them a reminder of what’s doable — not simply in competitors, however in how the sport can feel and appear at its highest stage.
