"The woman can play like nobody's business."
Dawn Staley has been my favorite basketball player in the world since the �96 Olympics. Until then, I didn�t really follow women�s basketball, because I�d never really seen it. With her behind the back passes, smooth dribbling, and quick smile, she soon became my favorite. After the Olympics, I followed her in the ABL as she led the Richmond Rage to the Finals. The next year, I had my first chance to see her play, as a member of the ABL�s Philadelphia Rage, and she didn�t disappoint. Despite a miserable record that season, the Rage played a great game. Before the game, I had the opportunity to get Dawn�s autograph- the entire Rage team was very obliging. Dawn wowed the crowd in pre-game-- showing her teammates how to do some amazing dribbling which I still can�t understand. With the exception of Markita Aldridge, none of them got very close. During the game, the Rage went down by a lot. Despite aching knees, Dawn played-- talking non stop-- with a whole lot of heart. That summer she would announce her decision to play with the WNBA to take the load off her knees. Now I will follow her closely in her latest venture.
HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT DAWN
Hello All Lil D Fans!
Whassup? I just wanted to write a quick to give props not only to my ALL-TIME Favorite playa but to the ABL Fan who designed this very cool site for us to hang out on! THANK YOU :o)
I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't wait for Dawn to tear it up in the WNBA!! I know some of those pg's in that league who have gotten a lil lackadaisical will be VeRy SuRpRiSeD when they face her. All those amazing dribbles, incredible passes... ok, by now you get my drift... and I am only a teensey bit biased! :o)
Enough raving about DS-- her play will speak for itself in a couple of months! I can't wait :o) Philly 5 still alive! Talk to you all laterz.
Peace ~A~
"Only Dawn didn't want a single room. She loved being around her teammates. She had returned to the team after the Thanksgiving break, though she couldn't play or practice yet. She told a reporter that she never got homesick while with the team on the road, but she had been "teamsick" during her three weeks at home rehabilitating her knee."
Tara VanDerveer, Shooting from the Outside
The woman can play like nobody's business. She's as tough as the Philadelphia streets that shaped her. She grew up playing against boys and learned, as girls do, to use her guile to make up for her size. I swear she has eyes in the back of her head. She has all the skills, but what I like most about Dawn is her intelligence and grit... Stanford played against her UVA team in 1992. The clock had run out and players had started walking off the court: Stanford had won. But suddenly there was Dawn chasing the ref, insisting there should still be seven tenths of a second left in the game. Virginia inbounded the ball to Dawn on the far side of the court away from their basket. Dawn heaved the ball toward the hoop, but missed the mark, ending the longest seven-tenhs of a second in my life. I learned a lot about Dawn in that game. She never gives up, and her head is always in the game. She, too, had been cut from the Olympic team in 1992, and she'd gone overseas to play. She wanted more than anything to show that she now whad become the best point guard in the world."
Tara VanDerveer in Shooting from the Outside
"The thought of going through the year without Dawn really scared me. She was such a spark. She poked at everybody. She would do silly things like try to unsnap my bracelet while I was talking in the huddle. If someone was frustrated about something on the court, Dawn would needle them until they were laughing about it. Dawn was the consumate team player and she was especially close to Lisa, though at first glance they seemed so different. Lisa is 6'5" and Dawn is 5'6." Lisa is elegance personified. She walks with a grace and a proud posture that seems born of royalty. She loves to dress up and dazzle, earning the nickname "Hollywood" from her teammates. Even as she rose throughthe basketball ranks to become one of the best basketball players in the world, she dreamed of leaving her Nikes behind for the heels of the fashion runway. Dawn, I think, couldn't imagine a life without basketball. She is pure Philly, tough, smart, and quick. Shw wears a rubber band around her wrist when she plays and snaps it as punishment when she makes a mistake. She and Lisa have played on so many national teams together. Dawn dishing the ball to Lisa, that they had developed a sixth sense about each other on the court. They played as if wired to the same circuit panel. Our team would be different without Dawn. I had counted on her to be our point guard, who is like the coach on the floor, directing traffic, making things happen. The players had not forgotten about Dawn, however. On the bench, they placed a tiny red doll's jacket with her number on it as a reminder and affectionate joke-- everyone always kidded Dawn about her size. The jacket would appear on the bench at every game Dawn missed."
Tara VanDerveer, Shooting from the Outside
"She's the most talented ball handler in the world. She has such great handles. She's got eyes in the back of her head, I swear she does. She makes everyone she plays with look good. She can create and dish -- she's like a manager of the ball. She understands distribution -- what kind of pass Lisa Leslie likes, what kind Nikki likes. She has great timing on her passes. She's a basketball player, Dawn is."
Renee Brown
"I can not believe Dawn Staley was still around when the Sting picked. They probably couldn't believe it, either. They probably looked at the board and said, 'Thank you.' I thought L.A. would take her, and that they should have. Dawn is a true point guard and this was an early Christmas gift for Charlotte. Dawn will definitely take some of the burden off of Andrea Stinson and now she can really do some damage."
Robin Roberts after the 1999 Draft
"Dawn fills so many needs on our team. She's a tremendous passer, she can score by cutting to the basket or from 3-point range. And she's as experienced a point guard as there was in the draft."
Marynell Meadors
"Yes, Virginia (and North Carolina), there is a Santa Claus -- and he handed Dawn Staley to the Sting. Charlotte needed a point guard, and they got arguably the best in the world in Staley."
Clay Kallam after the 1999 Draft
Listen Up! Here�s What KG Had to Say about my Girl!
KG: Yo, big shout-out to the WNBA and the ABL, oh my God!
SLAM: Wassup?
KG: No, I love that. People can say what they want, but hey, I love watchin' them ball. And you know who my favorite player is?
SLAM: Dawn Staley?
KG: Her too, but...Chamique Holdsclaw! Ohhh! She has so much game! She has too much game! Oh my God.
SLAM: Ohhh! Man, she got it. More game than Parker Brothers. She's going to be the first female player to go hardship. She's going to come out early and make both leagues have a lottery to fight over who's going to get her. Watch. And whichever league she goes to is going to be the one that survives. KG: Well, wherever she goes, I'm going. I'll be there. Nothing personal, but I'm a fan for real.
SLAM: And Saudia Roundtree....
KG: [Voice up another octave] She's from Madison! She's from here! Yeahhhh! Ooooo! Georgia, baby! I saw her in high school, she used to come to the park and give the boys some league ball. Straight like that, talkin' crazy!
SLAM: Jumper for days! And she got some handle, but she can't pass the pill like Dawn.
KG: Ooooo, I love Dawn Staley! I seen Dawn do some Rod Strickland sh�. I heard you used to see her in Virginia [I shake my head to verify]. Ooooweee! When she had the little MC Lyte li'l do'? Oh, my God! Man. She was niiiice!
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