Fred Chmiel’s bittersweet reunion: Former assistant hosts USC, Staley at Bowling Green
Fred Chmiel first met Dawn Staley in 2005.
He was a young assistant coach on the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. She was an icon, two seasons shy of retirement. He was in awe of everything about her.
“It was more than just the player,” Chmiel said. “It was how she handled herself and the way that she represented our team. At that point in her career she had knee problems, but (she was) still an icon and carried herself in a way that represented the entire league. It was impressive. I felt like I was learning more from her than she was from me being an assistant coach.”
The two went on to coach together at Temple (2006-08) and South Carolina (2015-23), winning two national championships with the Gamecocks and becoming a part of each other’s families along the way. Chmiel took over as the head coach at Bowling Green State University this year and will reunite with No. 1 USC at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN+) in Ohio for the first installment of a home-and-home contract between the two programs.
“It’ll be a great experience for everyone involved,” Chmiel said. “And it won’t be easy. It’ll be a little bit difficult for me, I know, looking down at the other end. But I have nothing but great thoughts about that team and those players and that staff.”
A reunion at Temple
Chmiel was selling cigars in Charlotte when he got the call to join Staley’s staff at Temple in 2006.
She had just retired from the WNBA after seven years in order to focus on her coaching career. He was bunking with then-Charlotte Bobcats staffer Gary Kloppenburg. Chmiel took up salesmanship after the National Women’s Basketball League, in which he served as a head coach for the San Jose Spiders, folded. The opening on Staley’s staff felt like it came with divine timing.
“That was a no-brainer,” Chmiel said.
He joined Staley in Philadelphia, where the pair helped Temple to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a share of the 2008 Atlantic 10 regular-season title. Watching Staley the point guard and Staley the coach, Chmiel noticed several parallels.
“She was a coach on the floor for so many years and just carried it to the sideline,” Chmiel said.
“If you’re going to be a point guard in the college game, there’s no one better that can help you reach the milestones and goals she’s already surpassed. But it’s a challenge each and every day. She’s gonna push you to your limit and make you think the game. And if you don’t love it, it’s probably not the right place for you. But she’s gonna pour everything she has into you.”
Another ‘no-brainer’
Staley left Temple for the head coaching job at South Carolina in 2008. Chmiel went on to assist at San Diego State (2008-10), Penn State (2010-14) and Minnesota (2014-15). They wouldn’t reunite for seven years.
The pair spoke frequently during that period apart. She was always willing to pick up the phone despite everyone — from her team to the media to the community — constantly clamoring for a piece of her time, a droplet of her wisdom.
Staley had an opening on her staff at USC in 2015. Chmiel was in Minnesota at the time — freezing. Running from the car to the office and back at the end of the day was a sport in and of itself.
But there was Staley with another divine call. Another “no-brainer.”
Chmiel accepted the job and was formally announced on May 8. His list of accomplishments with the Gamecocks is long:
▪ Six All-SEC forwards — including two National Players of the Year in A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston.
▪ Four consecutive SEC Tournament titles (2015-18).
▪ Three perfect SEC seasons (2015-16, 2019-20, 2022-23).
▪ Two seasons as the wire-to-wire No. 1 team. (2021-23).
▪ And two national championships (2017, 2022).
Stepping up, and away
Leaving for Bowling Green State in the offseason was hard.
Chmiel’s youngest daughter, Ivy, was born in Columbia. He helped recruit several players on South Carolina’s 2023-24 roster. And he’d spent so much time with his fellow coaches Staley, Lisa Boyer and Jolette Law over the years that they became like family to him.
How could he say goodbye after all those hours they spent competing with one another? All those card games and heated H.O.R.S.E. battles. (Chmiel swears he won the last game of H.O.R.S.E. against Staley, though she remembers differently. Regardless, Chmiel refuses to play her again for fear of losing what may or may not be his title.)
Even before the opportunity at Bowling Green came along, Chmiel and Staley had spoken about how becoming a head coach was part of Chmiel’s desired path. He went to her after deciding to take the job, bracing himself for what could be a very difficult conversation. Difficult because it would mean saying goodbye, and difficult because he knew she would share her assessment of the situation with her signature unflinching honesty.
“She told me, ‘You’re ready,’ ” Chmiel said. “‘It’s a new challenge, and it’s something that you’ve always wanted to do.’ Much like everything else, she’ll tell you if you’re ready or not. She’ll let you know. But she was really gracious.”
Staley spoke highly of her former assistant Saturday after South Carolina’s 99-29 victory over Presbyterian. She’s excited to award him with his 2023 Final Four ring while up in Ohio.
“I’m happy for Fred,” Staley said. “Fred’s long overdue in getting his own program and being the head coach. I know he’s going to do a tremendous job there in Bowling Green.
“Probably the one unfortunate thing is the weather,” she said with a smile. “Like, I know he’s freezing. I know he’s freezing.”
Chmiel said he learned a lot from Staley. To be a good coach, you have to push your players hard and love them that much harder. Be authentic and honest, even when it’s hard, so you can form real relationships. And remember, “You can learn from every situation. You can learn what to do and what not to do,” a nugget she delivered to Chmiel on a road trip when they were with the Charlotte Sting, which went on to finish 6-28 that year.
It’s hard for him to watch the Gamecocks play on TV instead of from the sideline. The transition from a coach and mentor to a fan has been bittersweet. But he’s enjoyed getting to know his current players at BGSU.
“I cheer for (South Carolina) every game, except the 19th,” Chmiel said with a hearty laugh. “I’m gonna have to take that part of me and shove it way deep down and try to just focus on the team that we have that I love right now.”
An emotional matchup
Tuesday’s game at the Stroh Center marks the first installment in a home-and-home contract between South Carolina (10-0) and Bowling Green State (6-2). The Falcons will play at Colonial Life Arena at some point during the 2024-25 season for an experience Chmiel anticipates will be even more emotional than this year’s matchup.
South Carolina’s current style of basketball is different from the one Chmiel’s used to. More balanced, he said. Not as dominant in the paint, but speedy with elite perimeter shooting.
His team and fan base are excited to have the nation’s No. 1 team and Staley in the building Tuesday, though they know it’ll be a major challenge. The game’s reserved seats are sold out (the arena has a capacity of 4,387). A limited number of general admission seats are still available.
Chmiel is grateful for the opportunity.
“(Staley) doesn’t need to come all the way to Ohio to play a MAC school,” he said. “There’s plenty of schools she could play down there. But she reaches out, she helps me up, and that’s just the type of person she is.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
