Staley Set to Help USA Basketball to Olympic Gold

July 24, 2016

Read the Spurs & Feathers article on Staley’s preparation for her USA Basketball assignment

COLUMBIA ââ’¬” South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley began her role as an assistant coach with USA Basketball this weekend as training camp and exhibition games start ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics. It marks Staley’s fifth U.S. Senior National Team assistant coaching assignment, added to her three USA Basketball head coach selections.

After two days of training in Los Angles on Saturday and Sunday, Staley and fellow U.S. Olympic assistant coach Doug Bruno will coach the USA Basketball Women’s Select Team, which includes former Gamecock Tiffany Mitchell, in an exhibition game against the Olympic team. The contest on Mon., July 25, at 10 p.m. (ET) at Southern Cal’s Galen Center tips off the USA Basketball Showcase presented by Verizon.

The Showcase continues with three exhibition games on the East Coast. The Americans will face France at 7:30 pm. on Wed., July 27, at Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware then take on Canada on Fri., July 29, at 7 p.m. at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. The final game of the Showcase will be against Australia at 4 p.m. on Sun., July 31, in Madison Square Garden in New York. All games of the showcase, including against the U.S. Select Team will stream live on the USA Basketball Facebook page.

After the showcase, the U.S. Olympic Team travels to Houston for final practice sessions before traveling to Rio. In the Olympics, the U.S. is in Group B and opens the tournament on Sun., Aug. 7, at 11 a.m. (ET) against Senegal. Other preliminary round opponents include Spain (Mon., Aug. 8), Serbia (Wed., Aug. 10), Canada (Fri., Aug. 12) and China (Sun., Aug. 14). The quarterfinals are set for Thu., Aug. 16, with semifinals on Thu., Aug. 18, and the bronze and gold medal games to be played on Sat., Aug. 20.

After playing in three Olympic Games and winning gold in all three, Staley was an assistant coach on the U.S. team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, during which the Americans continued their gold-medal streak. She has also been an assistant coach on USA Basketball’s 2014 FIBA World Championship gold-medal team, 2007 FIBA Americas Championship gold-medal team and 2006 FIBA World Championship bronze-medal team. As a USA Basketball head coach, Staley has guided her teams to gold medals in the 2007 Pan American Games, 2014 FIBA U18 Americas Championship and 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship. She was named the 2015 USA Basketball Co-National Coach of the Year, becoming the first person to have earned both a USA Basketball Coach and Athlete of the Year award.

Mitchell is enjoying her fourth invitation to a USA Basketball team. Her initial international experience yielded a gold medal in the 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Championship. She followed that with selection to the 2015 Pan Am Games, during which she was injured and did not play. In May 2015, Mitchell was one of three players invited to attend the USA Basketball Women’s National Team mini-camp in Las Vegas, training with the team for three days.

USA Basketball Showcase presented by Verizon
All games will stream live at: USA Basketball on Facebook
Mon., July 25, 10 p.m. (ET) ââ’¬” Olympic Team vs. USA Select Team
Wed., July 27, 7 p.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. France at Univ. of Delaware
Fri., July 29, 7 p.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. Canada in Bridgeport, Conn.
Sun., July 31, 4 p.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. Australia in New York

USA Basketball in 2016 Rio Olympics
Television coverage to be announced at a later time
Sun., Aug. 7, 11 a.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. Senegal
Mon., Aug. 8, 11 a.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. Spain
Wed., Aug. 10, 2:30 p.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. Serbia
Fri., Aug. 12, 2:30 p.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. Canada
Sun., Aug. 14, 11:15 a.m. (ET) ââ’¬” USA vs. China
Tue., Aug. 16, TBD ââ’¬” Quarterfinals
Thu., Aug. 18, TBD ââ’¬” Semifinals
Sat., Aug. 20, 10:30 a.m./2:30 p.m. (ET) ââ’¬” Bronze/Gold Medal Games