Dawn Staley defends A’ja Wilson statue at USC after Geno Auriemma remarks
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has something unique in common with her former player and Gamecock great A’ja Wilson. Both now have statues of their likenesses in Columbia.
During Staley’s remarks Wednesday at the unveiling of her own statue, she took time to defend Wilson’s statue in light of an opposing coach’s recent remarks.
Geno’s Auriemma’s comments
During UConn’s national championship victory celebration April 7, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma told a story from a recent gathering of his former players.
Auriemma counted up the amount of championships each player had before saying that the players who had won just one national title had to sit at the back of the bus.
“Most other places, if you win one national championship, they build a statue to you outside the building. Here, they won’t even let you get to the front of the bus,” Auriemma said.
A clip of his speech went viral, and Gamecock fans on social media took Auriemma’s comment as an implied shot at Wilson, though he never mentioned her or South Carolina by name.
There are notably no statues of UConn women’s basketball players or Auriemma outside of the Huskies home arena, Gampbell Pavilion, despite the program’s 12 national titles.
Dawn Staley’s response
USC’s coach on Wednesday said she initially didn’t want a statue erected in her honor. She believed Wilson’s statue, unveiled in January 2021, should “be the only one ever” before she was convinced by USC and city of Columbia leadership to accept the honor. Staley did so for representation’s sake, she said.
After sharing that anecdote, South Carolina’s coach appeared to fire back at Auriemma in defense of Wilson’s statue, though she did not refer to him by name.
“Contrary to the belief of one of my coaching colleagues, her statue wasn’t in response to winning a national championship. It was in response to being a winner at life,” Staley said.
Staley continued by saying the statue for Wilson was a tribute “to a hometown hero.” Wilson is a Columbia native who Staley has credited with legitimizing the South Carolina women’s basketball program. Wilson was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2014 and stayed home to play for the Gamecocks. She helped deliver the program’s first national championship win in 2017 and is one of the most decorated athletes in school history.
Wilson has since moved onto the pros, where she’s won two WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces and has been named MVP of the league three times.
“It’s a tribute to a hometown hero,” Staley said, “a symbol of what’s possible for the youth of Columbia, when passion meets preparedness. A’ja Wilson represents excellence, perseverance and discipline. There’s no one more deserving, no better example for young people in this community.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 9:13 PM.
