PHOENIX \u2014 Dawn Staley keeps talking about debt. She doesn\u2019t often entertain her personal legacy. She refuses to escalate the feud with Geno Auriemma. The credit mongers and controversy fiends can line up next if they want to try her.<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
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The former point guard isn\u2019t going to commit a turnover.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love basketball,\u201d the esteemed South Carolina women\u2019s coach said. \u201cLike, it\u2019s my passion. It is the very thing I don\u2019t cheat on.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s more than a comment. That\u2019s a code.<\/p>\n
If you happened to pay attention Friday night \u2014 and if you didn\u2019t, are you even alive? \u2014 you saw that code in action. After Auriemma verbally accosted her, you saw the lava bubbling within Staley. Then you saw her cool down without causing any more damage than spattering a series of reactionary curse words. She had every reason to prolong the dispute, either in the moment or during postgame interviews. Instead, she made a harder choice.<\/p>\n
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She showed restraint.<\/p>\n
In one incident, she revealed all of her: the intensity, the tenacity, the grace and the responsibility. She didn\u2019t let the nastiness sprawl. She recovered quickly and saw the bigger picture. With South Carolina and UCLA set to play in Sunday\u2019s national championship game, the sport needed someone to lower the temperature. Of course, Staley would do it.<\/p>\n
For the past decade, she has been the face, the voice and the conscience of women\u2019s basketball. It\u2019s a weight to carry, and she is far from perfect. She can be petty. She can be stubborn. Like all coaches, she must feel in control at all times. Yet when it really matters, Staley puts basketball ahead of herself.<\/p>\n
If Auriemma had done the same, this dustup would have been nothing. Maybe he would have done an awkward drive-by handshake instead of instigating a screaming match. Or maybe he would have shown contrition immediately after the game instead of issuing an apology the next day to try to quell a full-blown disaster.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s hard to be a caretaker for an entire industry.<\/a> Staley chose to protect her team\u2019s sterling accomplishment. She tried to keep the focus on what happened rather than winning a war of words. No one wants to admit it, but she even gave Auriemma a clearer path forward by not articulating the shock of seeing an unglued man shouting at her.<\/p>\n It was commendable leadership in the heat of the moment. She managed to be forceful while also controlling herself and her team and grasping the enormity of the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t let my bubble voice come out,\u201d she said Saturday.<\/p>\n On the morning after the chaos, Staley could joke about not wanting to be a cartoon character whose thoughts were displayed for all to see.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n She epitomized grace.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a praying mother, right?\u201d she said, explaining how she stays focused.<\/p>\n But she couldn\u2019t resist throwing a jab.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up in the projects of North Philly, right?\u201d she said, emphasizing the word \u201cnorth\u201d to continue a running tease about Auriemma embracing a Philadelphia rep despite growing up in Norristown, Pa., a northern suburb. \u201cPhilly \u2013 215, 267 area codes. So nothing \u2014 nothing \u2014 can derail us, or me, from staying with the task at hand.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of distractions that are placed in your life. You are either going to address them and let it overcome (you), or you stick with the task at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n She cracked open the door to clap back at a later date: \u201cI\u2019m choosing to stick to the task at hand. At some point, everything is going to be addressed. Today, this weekend, won\u2019t be one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s a compelling cliffhanger, but we will see \u2014 perhaps on Nov. 24, when they meet in a showcase game. If Staley wins her fourth national title, she will be so busy counting her blessings that she might decline having the last word. She lives with a greater purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I owe basketball,\u201d Staley said. \u201cLike, basketball has been incredible to me, to my family. And I always feel like I have to repay it.\u201d<\/p>\n Her restraint is neither passive nor diplomatic. It is competitive restraint. She will not take any bait because there\u2019s so much more to do, for herself and others.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cCoach Staley is a great coach,\u201d fifth-year senior guard Raven Johnson said. \u201cNot even a great coach, a great human being. I think she lets people be comfortable with who they are. No matter who you are, I think she tries to instill confidence in each player.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayers that want to dig in deep and play for something bigger than themselves. They want to play for each other, for her, for South Carolina. It\u2019s bigger than just the game of basketball, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n After the spat, Johnson high-fived Staley when she came back to the South Carolina bench. It lightened the mood. Soon after, Staley centered herself.<\/p>\n \u201cI honestly just saw her screaming,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s something she doesn\u2019t usually do. I ran over to her quick. Like, I don\u2019t play about Coach Staley at all. We\u2019ve been through a lot together. She fights for each one of us outside of basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n That fight never ends. At South Carolina, Staley does more than stack Final Fours, collect national titles and boost the self-esteem of an entire state. Her program is more than a competitive inevitability. It is full of bounce-back spirit. It is a place where people develop. Staley will not retreat from that mission, not even when she\u2019s hollering about showing Auriemma her right hook.<\/p>\n She\u2019s not furthering a legacy. She\u2019s repaying a debt. That\u2019s why she flipped from boiling to calm so quickly.<\/p>\n If you think you own your success, you protect it at all costs. If you think you owe the game, you serve it. Staley has a 180-10 record over the past five seasons, but winning isn\u2019t just something she takes. It\u2019s something she returns<\/a>.<\/p>\n The kid from North Philly has a code. She will not cheat the game. In the aftermath of an ugly altercation, the sport still prospers because, in Staley\u2019s mind, her basketball account will never be settled.<\/p>\n