How Dawn Staley, USC WBB made a local coach’s day with an ‘incredible’ gesture
It was a shot in the dark, but Johnette Walker figured she’d ask.
Walker is entering her second season as the Newberry College women’s basketball coach. As an Irmo native and someone who’s coached in South Carolina for years, she’s also a longtime follower and admirer of Dawn Staley’s USC program.
So when Walker learned her new assistant had a Gamecocks connection, she had a request: Could Newberry possibly drop in and watch a South Carolina practice?
“A week later, we’re sitting courtside,” Walker told The State.
As Walker first revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Staley and the Gamecocks were more than happy to accommodate Newberry, an NCAA Division II program located roughly 50 minutes northwest of Columbia.
Walker told The State her staff’s trip to watch Staley and the Gamecocks at the Carolina Coliseum on July 3 was an “amazing experience” that went beyond the usual shadowing opportunity that some larger teams provide to smaller programs.
Staley and her staff immediately greeted and welcomed the Newberry staff when they arrived and handed each coach a copy of that day’s practice plan. Sharing the practice plan was “a small gesture that spoke volumes,” Walker said.
“I thought that was incredible,” she said.
South Carolina then allowed Walker and her staff to watch a full hour of Gamecocks practice. Newberry’s staff also spoke with Staley and posed for photos afterward.
Not bad, considering Newberry’s initial connection to South Carolina was somewhat indirect. Walker had hired Terrance Rose II as a Newberry assistant coach on June 26, and it turned out Rose’s father-in-law knew a member of the South Carolina women’s basketball support staff. That connection was more than enough for Staley.
“Thank you so much for coming! We enjoyed having you all! Great summer! Great luck preparing! Great season!” Staley wrote in a July 3 social media reply to Walker.
Newberry College is Walker’s first head coaching job. She was previously a standout point guard at Irmo High School and Radford University, and played six years overseas in Germany before working as an assistant at USC Upstate, Chowan and Francis Marion.
Hired as Newberry’s coach in 2024, she said she’s always looking for ways to grow.
“I want to learn from the best so I can become one of the best myself,” she said.
A ‘special’ visit to Columbia
Staley obviously falls into that category. She has coached South Carolina to five consecutive Final Fours and three national championships (2017, 2022, 2024) while helping elevate college women’s basketball as a sport.
“It meant everything to me to have the opportunity to walk into the USC’s gym and watch Coach Dawn Staley and her team practice,” Walker said. “Just being in the presence of such an amazing person and legendary coach was truly an honor.”
Walker said South Carolina’s 2025 roster — which features a strong mix of returners and transfers and is already one of the early favorites to win next year’s national championship — practiced with “incredible energy and intensity.”
She picked up plenty of notes to take back and apply at Newberry, where her Wolves are looking to improve on a season in which they went 6-22.
She left with an even greater appreciation for Staley, too.
“I’m truly grateful for the chance to witness the culture she’s built firsthand,” Walker said. “It was something special to see.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
