Overview

• Staley said at SEC media day that she doubts an NBA team will make a woman its head coach during her lifetime, adding that she hopes to be wrong.
• The South Carolina coach interviewed with the New York Knicks earlier this year during a search that ended with Mike Brown replacing Tom Thibodeau.
• She said she would have accepted the Knicks job if offered and stressed that a first female coach would be judged through a gendered lens during losing streaks.
• Staley recounted feeling the Knicks’ tone shift after she raised the day‑to‑day implications of hiring a woman, and she offered to advise candidates and teams on the process.
• Her Gamecocks enter the season ranked No. 2 in the AP preseason poll, with guard Chloe Kitts sidelined for the year by a torn ACL.