- 4 hours ago
Watch The Moment () free full movie online in HD on Dailymotion (2026).
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:00Do-be-do-be
00:00:46If I had a million tongues, I don't think that would be enough thank yous for this experience.
00:00:52To have two black female coaches playing in Paris, opening up college basketball season.
00:01:01Not just women's college basketball, the men too.
00:01:06Include them in it, yes.
00:01:09And I'm hoping that, seriously, I'm hoping that a national championship comes out of this Paris game.
00:01:22Is there anything more symbolic than how big women's hoops has gotten, starting up the season in Paris?
00:01:28Let's go, Gamecock!
00:01:32Let's go, Gamecock!
00:01:35Let's go, Gamecock!
00:01:36It's only fitting that we start this season in epic fashion because that's how we ended it a year ago.
00:01:43Iowa just conquered South Carolina!
00:01:47And South Carolina's undefeated season ends tonight.
00:02:16The nerves got them turned down.
00:02:28We've had, we've not had to deal with nerves in a long time.
00:02:35We haven't had to deal with nerves, you said, really?
00:02:40Not these type of nerves.
00:02:56I think every sport that really hadn't got, would have deserved, deserved a moment like this,
00:03:03in which a lot of eyeballs were on our game.
00:03:09We've been held back for a very long time.
00:03:13But now we're in a place where we're in high demand and there isn't any going back.
00:03:24Any time you move forward, you have to know where it came from.
00:03:32Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!
00:03:34Let's go, let's go, let's go!
00:03:36We want more people knowing the history of our game and the future of our game.
00:03:41And I think I'm right in the middle because I've seen where we've come.
00:03:45And I hope to see where we're going because it's long overdue.
00:03:53Women have been playing basketball in a ladylike fashion since the 1890s.
00:03:58There have been three leagues that have tried and failed.
00:04:01For each moment in time, it had to happen in order for us to build to this moment.
00:04:07Here comes Clark. How will she go for history?
00:04:10There it is!
00:04:12The women's game, taking center stage, breaking ratings records,
00:04:16and changing the perceptions of women's sports.
00:04:19You can't be afraid to do whatever it takes.
00:04:22Connecticut has won the national championship.
00:04:25For the first time, it wasn't just a dream.
00:04:28The women's NBA starts its first season.
00:04:31Are American men ready for this?
00:04:32I don't know, but if they're not, they better get ready.
00:04:35Staley, the step back, three at the poster!
00:04:38Dawn's career matches this growth of women's basketball in the inflection points.
00:04:44Visibility is through the roof, interest at an all-time high.
00:04:47Perhaps the most anticipated women's college basketball game ever.
00:04:52It was this culmination of the best of the best from basketball.
00:04:57I mean, you just can't write a better script.
00:04:59I'm going to help them meet that moment.
00:05:02I'm so proud of where women's basketball is.
00:05:06We're not going to let this season go.
00:05:08Same game! Let's go!
00:05:22And here we go for the very first time in Paris.
00:05:26We have NCAA basketball.
00:05:30Here's Sitalgo.
00:05:31Shimmies, takes, and bates.
00:05:34If she knocks one down on you, go right the fuck back and get her.
00:05:39Wow!
00:05:40For Wiley!
00:05:41My goodness!
00:05:42A show-stopping highlight!
00:05:46Shit, I like that.
00:05:53Yo!
00:05:55That motherfucking pass!
00:05:57The Gamecocks win it over Notre Dame, 100-71.
00:06:06Yo!
00:06:07No!
00:06:08No!
00:06:08Full Wiley!
00:06:10I mean, I saw it!
00:06:12I saw it!
00:06:13But I was like, no!
00:06:17No!
00:06:19Oh, my God.
00:06:21Magic Johnson posted, quote,
00:06:22Everyone must see the coast-to-coast, behind-the-back move.
00:06:26For fresh regards, the best move in all of basketball.
00:06:28Better than Steph, LeBron, and all.
00:06:31There's money to be made on the women's game.
00:06:34I can't wait to see, you know, how things explode.
00:06:37For the women's game in particular, the sky's the limit.
00:06:40I think along the way, there have been some important tipping points in women's basketball history.
00:06:45You know, we're in a moment right now, these women have never been bigger stars.
00:06:50Juju Watkins has just set the national freshman scoring record.
00:06:55Angel Reese, who's become one of the biggest stars in the sport.
00:06:58Angel Reese has come to play.
00:07:01Or Kaitlin breaking every record.
00:07:03The all-time attendance record for women's basketball.
00:07:07And sure enough, it's Mylasia that goes viral with this play in the game.
00:07:12Mylasia came out there and played with a free flair that could be reminiscent of her own coach, Dawn Staley.
00:07:17With behind-the-back dribbles and no-look passes, Staley is the Magic Johnson of Lady Hoops.
00:07:26What's amazing about Dawn's career journey is it sort of matches this growth of women's basketball and the inflection points.
00:07:36WNBA all-star, three-time gold medal winner as an Olympian.
00:07:41Every step along the way, Dawn has been a history maker from college to the WNBA, USA basketball, and now
00:07:49in coaching.
00:07:50Dawn's career is sort of an interesting retrospective because she has been riding this wave and contributing to it from
00:07:59the very beginning.
00:08:01I've been in the game all my life.
00:08:04I feel that I owe basketball for the life it's given me.
00:08:19I would not be who I am today if I didn't grow up in North Philly.
00:08:27My entire life I've played against guys.
00:08:33It was them who raised me as a basketball player.
00:08:40When you're up at the center, we call it the big boy court.
00:08:43That's the full court.
00:08:44As a little girl growing up in Philly, like that was the goal in front of me is to get
00:08:49on the big boy court.
00:08:52But, you know, that was a, for me, far-fetched.
00:08:57Like I couldn't wait to get there, but I also knew I had to wait my turn.
00:09:05And then when I was able to get on the big boy court, it felt very much like when I
00:09:12first received my first gold medal.
00:09:14It felt very much like when I got my first national championship.
00:09:19Like, it's on that stage of achievement.
00:09:27We're in a different time now.
00:09:30Most young girls, it's a lot easier for them to dream, and to dream big, because it's right there in
00:09:38front of them.
00:09:38So we've grown so much.
00:09:42And now people want to know the history of our game.
00:09:46They want to know the depth of women's basketball.
00:09:49That is what you want.
00:09:51That is, you want them desiring more.
00:09:55President Nixon today signed a $20 billion education bill into law.
00:10:01Title IX forbids sex discrimination in educational programs and activities receiving federal funds.
00:10:07Stated simply, women must be given the same access and exposure to sports as men.
00:10:13I can tell you right now, we wouldn't be doing a documentary if it wasn't for Title IX.
00:10:20Title IX was the driver of women's basketball and the opportunity for young girls to train, to have teams.
00:10:29The growth in women's sports has been tremendous since Title IX.
00:10:33Girls' participation in high school athletics is up by more than 400%.
00:10:37I'm a Title IX baby, and I'm proud to have helped grow my sport.
00:10:43The first lady of basketball, Nancy Lieberman.
00:10:48I was the first full scholarship athlete at Old Dominion University for a female.
00:10:55Old Dominion was 125 and 15 in my four years.
00:10:59We were really America's team.
00:11:01Everywhere we went, it was the largest crowd they ever had.
00:11:04You know, like, it took a long time for us to get women's sports live as they were happening.
00:11:10And then, in 1980, they televised the Women's Basketball National Championship.
00:11:15It was a real turning point in sports history.
00:11:17That's Lieberman's game right there. Push the ball down the floor.
00:11:21She can handle it better than anybody in the country right now.
00:11:23Women's basketball was never televised when I was growing up.
00:11:26But then I finally saw Nancy Lieberman on the TV, and I was like, who is this girl?
00:11:32I remember creating goals for myself for the first time.
00:11:36How powerful was that now that I think about it?
00:11:38Old Dominion has won it!
00:11:41Our sport has been built on the pride of women, the strength of women.
00:11:48The Nancy Liebermans, the Lynette Wooders.
00:11:51I became a four-year All-American in Kansas and scored over 3,600 points.
00:11:57Lynette Wooders scored more points than anybody else.
00:11:59Women's basketball.
00:12:01I just think of certain players in the history of the sport who were really setting the tone
00:12:06and creating a higher level of play. Players like Annie Myers.
00:12:10Crowds are bigger this year. The enthusiasm is for the UCLA women's team.
00:12:15Sophomore guard Ann Myers is one reason why.
00:12:18She is the first woman ever to attend UCLA on a full basketball scholarship.
00:12:22Do you think the girls play as good a game as the men?
00:12:25It's just as exciting.
00:12:28I figure in a way I'm a pioneer for other women coming in.
00:12:35Generally regarded as the best all-round women's player in the country.
00:12:39Her name is Cheryl Miller.
00:12:41At Riverside Pauley High School, she once scored 105 points in a single game.
00:12:46Cheryl led USC to its first national championship.
00:12:49Cheryl, do guys ever underestimate you?
00:12:51Not anymore.
00:12:53Well, you've got two years left of college ball.
00:12:56Is it possible you'll have to hang up the sneakers after that and retire from basketball?
00:13:00Well, you know, I don't know.
00:13:02What I hope to see is a women's professional league.
00:13:05I think timing is everything.
00:13:07And, you know, Cheryl Miller, she didn't get what we got, right?
00:13:11And Ann Myers and Nancy Lieberman, they didn't get what Cheryl got.
00:13:19I took the torch and carried it.
00:13:21I took it from the group before me.
00:13:23And so for each moment in time, it's the way it had to happen in order for us to build
00:13:30to this moment.
00:13:31Those are the women that pushed for Dawn.
00:13:35And then Dawn and her generation of the Cheryl Swoops and Lisa Leslie.
00:13:41It's those first foundational generations that have really set the rest of us up for success.
00:13:49A lot has been done in order to grow the game.
00:13:53But still, we're not comfortable with breaking barriers.
00:13:58And we need to get comfortable with it because there isn't any going back.
00:14:03Hey, phenomenal top ten women's hoops game tonight in Baton Rouge.
00:14:08The reigning champs, LSU hosting South Carolina.
00:14:12The best way for me to describe the anticipation for that game between South Carolina and LSU
00:14:17is as we were driving from our hotel to the arena.
00:14:20The bars along the street on the way to the arena were filled and people spilling out of them.
00:14:26And Holly, who covers all of the biggest college football games, said...
00:14:30This feels like a football Saturday in Baton Rouge.
00:14:33Visibility is through the roof. Interest at an all-time high.
00:14:36It's time now, guys.
00:14:37Let's just put an end to all this hype about who's the best team, who's this, who's that.
00:14:43They have something that we want.
00:14:45We want the national championship.
00:14:47They're just in the way right now.
00:14:48Let's go and do what we need to do.
00:14:51Effort never dies.
00:15:03Don was wearing her Everybody Watches Women's Sports shirt and I was like, they do tonight.
00:15:09Like, it was just electric and dynamic.
00:15:12You've got Angel Rees, one of the biggest brands in sports.
00:15:16People are obsessed with Angel Rees.
00:15:19I think you had, like, sort of a perfect storm of big stars and coaches with big personalities.
00:15:29They will hate to hear this, but Kim Mulkey and Dawn Staley are more alike than they are different.
00:15:34Kim Mulkey was a national championship caliber player for Louisiana Tech.
00:15:38Dawn Staley at Virginia.
00:15:39They both go on and play on the Olympic team.
00:15:42Then they go into coaching and they make their mark with national championships.
00:15:46They are women who attract attention.
00:15:50And then their style.
00:15:52I mean, you've got Gucci on one side and the Queen of Sparkles on the other.
00:15:55Like, come on.
00:15:56How you doing?
00:15:57How you doing?
00:15:58They can say whatever the hell they want.
00:16:00They don't get no better than what you and I fucking put on this floor.
00:16:04Don't you ever forget it.
00:16:09Let's go.
00:16:10Let's go.
00:16:11Let's go.
00:16:12Let's go, y'all.
00:16:14Let's go West.
00:16:15Let's go West.
00:16:15Number one South Carolina.
00:16:17Number nine LSU.
00:16:18Here we go from Baton Rouge.
00:16:21Looking in for Rees.
00:16:22Draws two.
00:16:24Rees.
00:16:25Clips it in.
00:16:26Custafel.
00:16:27Rees!
00:16:28You're not guarding us!
00:16:30You're not guarding Angel!
00:16:33Rees, clips in.
00:16:35Custafel!
00:16:37Rees comes up with the O-board.
00:16:39Van Lee.
00:16:40Finished!
00:16:41On a three.
00:16:43Custafel away from the wall.
00:16:46Line it to the motherfucking basket.
00:16:48You gonna pull up?
00:16:48Go get a foul on her!
00:16:51You're not a fucking play!
00:16:53Rees gets swallowed up by Cardoso.
00:16:56Gives a little stare afterward.
00:16:58I just remember the moment where the script flipped.
00:17:02And South Carolina became unafraid.
00:17:04And they took control of that moment and that crazy crowd.
00:17:09Hall will take that one.
00:17:12And hit!
00:17:16Here's Pow Pow.
00:17:18Dumping it down.
00:17:19In the corner.
00:17:20Hall.
00:17:21She got it!
00:17:22Another three!
00:17:24For Bree Hall!
00:17:25How the fucking champion!
00:17:30For much of this game, LSU controlled.
00:17:33Down the stretch, Gamecocks remain undefeated!
00:17:41Great game, baby!
00:17:42Great job!
00:17:44Great job!
00:17:44Great job, y'all!
00:17:46For South Carolina to be down and then fight back and both teams played well, it was just
00:17:52perfect.
00:17:53Like, this is why we're trying to tell you our game is so great.
00:17:56It doesn't get much bigger than this, Arda, right?
00:17:59Two schools on the floor tonight, 11 combined Final Fours, three national titles, the last
00:18:03two national champions.
00:18:04It was the game of the season.
00:18:06I did not disappoint.
00:18:13I think that what you're seeing now around women's basketball, it's, you know, really
00:18:18blown up this year in a way that we've never seen before.
00:18:20But it is comparable to what was happening in the mid-90s.
00:18:26The mid-90s, to me, it's the birth of women's basketball.
00:18:29And 1993 was the first time I really started paying attention with Cheryl Swoops because
00:18:32my dad told me she played like Michael Jordan.
00:18:34You have to understand the importance of Swoops 93 and the amazing performance that she had
00:18:39at the Final Four and on the national stage.
00:18:41I think that moment was really important because Cheryl Swoops is somebody that caught the national
00:18:47attention.
00:18:47And then 1995 was a huge tipping point for women's basketball because America fell in love with the UConn undefeated
00:18:57team.
00:18:58That 95 team was America's darlings.
00:19:01They attracted these mainstream outlets in a way that I'm not sure we had in women's basketball before.
00:19:08And Rebecca Lobo was the face of that.
00:19:11The attention that our 1995 team got, especially being located in Connecticut in ESPN's backyard.
00:19:17There's regular highlights on SportsCenter.
00:19:20A moment which will live forever at Connecticut.
00:19:22The women topping Tennessee yesterday.
00:19:24And Connecticut is a unanimous pick for number one.
00:19:26First time in school history.
00:19:27Tennessee drops to two.
00:19:28But I really believe what put us over the top was a gentleman named Frank Litsky was a writer for
00:19:35the New York Times.
00:19:36He was a UConn grad.
00:19:38And he decides to come to a game and writes a story about UConn basketball.
00:19:43This is the New York Times before the internet, before social media.
00:19:48One of my first memories of the UConn program was the New York Times started to do like some sort
00:19:54of like follow diary thing.
00:19:56And my dad was showing me those articles.
00:19:59It gave me a little bit of a see it be it moment.
00:20:01So we became a national story where the entire country and people that never used to talk about the game,
00:20:09never used to write about the game, wanted to be part of the game.
00:20:12Lobo goes to work in the lane and a beautiful shot on a spin move.
00:20:18UConn has won the national championship.
00:20:22And they've done it in perfect fashion at 35 and all.
00:20:27It became bigger than what we ever thought.
00:20:31I know that team still resonates very strongly.
00:20:34I walk down the street with Rebecca Lobo, we get stopped.
00:20:37Hey, Rebecca Lobo.
00:20:39Like, every time.
00:20:41What our UConn team did in 95, I think really helped bolster confidence in investing in the 96 Olympic team.
00:20:51Going back to 1996, we lost in the previous Olympics in Barcelona.
00:20:58And then we were hosting the 96 in Atlanta.
00:21:01So we couldn't get it wrong.
00:21:03Good job, Ruthie.
00:21:04Don't turn your back, Teresa.
00:21:0696 was the only time that USA Basketball has trained for a year for the Olympics.
00:21:14It's not about bronze, it's not about silver, it's about gold.
00:21:18We were doing it for the future of the game.
00:21:21We knew it, but we didn't speak on it.
00:21:24I don't think there were 12 athletes more built for that pressure
00:21:28and to kind of show everybody what professional basketball can look like.
00:21:33We had a sisterhood the way Tara Vanderveer coached us, forced us to build the chemistry that we have.
00:21:40It was a bond that was created through great friendship, great hardship, and then great results.
00:21:47What time is it?
00:21:49Hey, guys!
00:21:49Go, baby!
00:21:50When I look at Olympic teams, right, I look at me, Dawn, and Lisa.
00:21:54The three of us had such a great chemistry.
00:21:57We were trying to grow the game of women's basketball.
00:22:02We just brought something different that the game really hadn't seen.
00:22:07It was about entertaining.
00:22:09Once upon a time, three girls went to rock steady for a pick-up game.
00:22:12Yo!
00:22:13We got Nick!
00:22:14Lisa is the center of U.S. women's basketball team.
00:22:16Cheryl is a forward, Dawn is a point guard.
00:22:19From a culture standpoint, you know, Spike Lee and all of them began to accept these players
00:22:24as great basketball players and people.
00:22:27You know, those are some of the best commercials, I think, out there,
00:22:30and it really changed things for women's basketball.
00:22:34The collective star power of that roster really got the most attention we've ever seen a women's
00:22:41sports team get.
00:22:42The USA women's Olympic basketball team!
00:22:46Yes!
00:22:49God, we were all over doing commercials, live TV, or being on the Martin Show.
00:22:56Everybody was getting a taste of it.
00:22:58Let the games begin!
00:23:00It was really the year of the woman.
00:23:02We gonna win!
00:23:04It was fantastic.
00:23:10You know, to win the gold medal game by 30 points against Brazil in front of millions
00:23:14around the world, I think the 96 team light shined on the sport that was already incredible
00:23:22and growing but just never had the profile.
00:23:25I'm looking at Jen Azee and I'm like, okay, like, I look like her, she's doing this.
00:23:30Maybe one day I could be on the national team.
00:23:32Maybe one day I could be an Olympian.
00:23:35It was a moment in time that was a snapshot of what could be.
00:23:48The legendary Dawn Staley was at the Mitchell and Ness flagship store this afternoon.
00:23:53Dozens anxiously waited in line outside the store with basketball gear in hand to get signed.
00:23:58Who's this for?
00:23:59Ben.
00:24:00Ben?
00:24:01Ben.
00:24:01All right.
00:24:02He loves coming to your games.
00:24:04Thank you so much.
00:24:05You're awesome.
00:24:06If you want it on the front, you can get it on the front.
00:24:08On the front?
00:24:09Yeah.
00:24:09All right.
00:24:10Thank you for everything you can do for the game of basketball.
00:24:12No problem.
00:24:12Good luck.
00:24:13You've had obviously here like five times.
00:24:15I've never seen it turn out like this.
00:24:17For real?
00:24:17I'm trying to guess.
00:24:18This is crazy down the block.
00:24:19Is it?
00:24:20Down the block?
00:24:21I got to go check it out though.
00:24:23I am going to go check it out.
00:24:25I appreciate your existence.
00:24:27I don't think we were expecting all these people.
00:24:29Why are we?
00:24:30Look at the Philly love.
00:24:31Is it?
00:24:40I love you.
00:24:41And you're the best coach in the world.
00:24:43Oh, thank you.
00:24:48Thank y'all.
00:24:49Safe travels, too.
00:24:50Come on.
00:24:51What y'all need?
00:24:55When I won my first gold medal, you have to think about this.
00:25:00I grew up in the projects in North Philly.
00:25:02You know, we are not supposed to win something as big as a gold medal.
00:25:08Uncommon favor.
00:25:09Leave your answer.
00:25:10So I realized there is hope.
00:25:13Your dreams can come true when you pour into, you know, your passion.
00:25:18I'm going to try to get to these people that came out here.
00:25:23When we won gold medal in 96, we built a lot of momentum and a lot of publicity, creating
00:25:29something historic.
00:25:30You represent Philly, girl.
00:25:32That's right.
00:25:32You ready?
00:25:33Now that I look back on it, we were building momentum for women's basketball to be a lifestyle
00:25:39and a profession that was truly overdue.
00:25:43If you've ever wanted something so bad, and you saw it sitting right in front of you,
00:25:51for the first time, it wasn't just a dream.
00:25:56Women of the hoop.
00:25:57And I'm not talking about the hoop skirt, either.
00:25:59A good jump shot would have been impossible in such a garment, of course.
00:26:02And the ABL would have been out of the question altogether.
00:26:09Going back to 1996, we found out that there will be two professional leagues.
00:26:15One was the ABL and the other one was the WNBA.
00:26:18Dawn Staley, all five foot six inches of it, is one of the founders and stars of the
00:26:23Women's American Basketball League.
00:26:25The ABL was the first pro independent basketball league for women.
00:26:29It got off the ground a couple of years prior to the WNBA.
00:26:33The ABL was fun, it was exciting, it was exhilarating.
00:26:37The fans were crazy.
00:26:39They loved us.
00:26:42We're hoping that the ABL will allow little girls who dream of playing professional basketball
00:26:47to attain that dream.
00:26:49Then the WNBA is going to start.
00:26:51And because they have the weight of the NBA and David Stern behind them,
00:26:56that's going to be the league that succeeds.
00:27:00The WNBA had the marketing juice, they had the TV contracts of this extremely successful
00:27:05established league.
00:27:07So you have to kind of imagine that the writing was on the wall.
00:27:11I will always give credit to the ABL because it was good competition.
00:27:15It went crazy when it failed.
00:27:18Back then I had a beeper and my beeper was going off like crazy.
00:27:23Because then we had to now bring all those players over to the WNBA.
00:27:29Unfortunately, we couldn't have the ABL and the WNBA together.
00:27:32So, you know, once we all joined forces in the WNBA, it certainly uplifted the WNBA.
00:27:39There have been three leagues that have tried and failed.
00:27:42What's different in 1997?
00:27:44Well, we think we're in a different time and place now,
00:27:46and that the timing just couldn't be better for us to launch the league.
00:27:49We're benefiting from an extremely successful women's Olympic team program.
00:27:52Now we've got the benefit of support from the NBA, from national television arrangements.
00:27:57So we think the timing couldn't be better, and we have very high hopes for the future of the sport.
00:28:01Are American men ready for this?
00:28:02I don't know, but if they're not, they better get ready.
00:28:06There were the biggest names on the biggest teams.
00:28:09Becca Lobo, Cheryl Swoops, Lisa Leslie.
00:28:14The energy around the WNBA was incredible.
00:28:17What I remember is the We Got Next ads.
00:28:20You couldn't really watch a sporting event without seeing one of those ads.
00:28:24But the league was really interested in marketing a certain kind of player.
00:28:27Rebecca Lobo is a player for New York Liberty.
00:28:30Rebecca Lobo was this white girl next door, feminine-presenting, heterosexual,
00:28:37and kind of smiling for the camera.
00:28:39And also, mothers were a big kind of main event for the league.
00:28:44And the Cheryl Swoops pregnancy rewrote history.
00:28:48The Houston Comets have won their fourth straight WNBA championship.
00:28:57The WNBA started, and we had these great first few seasons, and then it did kind of diminish.
00:29:05You know, the initial team is these American sweethearts and darlings.
00:29:09And then you get to the league, and the rosters get filled out, and it's a lot of gay women.
00:29:15So, racism, misogyny, homophobia, those are all real reasons why the WNBA declined in popularity.
00:29:23It just exploded, and then it went away.
00:29:25It lost its place in the consciousness of a lot of people.
00:29:30It's just kind of inconceivable to think about starting out with the kind of energy and juice that the WNBA
00:29:35had and fumbling that.
00:29:37A lot of momentum was lost at a time when it could have been sustained and grown.
00:29:42And I think the current moment we're in, this boom time, could have happened a long time ago if the
00:29:47right people had kind of stayed with it.
00:29:50We can't let that happen again, where the mania for women's basketball just kind of dissipates.
00:29:57We've got to build on it now.
00:29:58That's our responsibility.
00:30:02Welcome to ESPN's Sonic Blockbuster.
00:30:05Between No. 11 UConn and No. 1 undefeated South Carolina, it's a matchup just jumping with many of the best
00:30:12players in college basketball today.
00:30:14Not to mention two of the greatest coaches, Don Staley and Gino Auriemma.
00:30:19What's up, Gino? You good?
00:30:20I'm going to get one of those outfits.
00:30:22Ah!
00:30:24What's up?
00:30:26Coach Auriemma is the standard.
00:30:27You can pretend somebody else's, but 11 national championships, 14 consecutive Final Fours, 111 games in a row is the
00:30:37standard.
00:30:38You know, it's interesting because a lot of people, when they hear that I've gone to UConn, they're like,
00:30:44oh, you know, 11 national championships.
00:30:46But when my class got there for the fall of 98, we'd only had one.
00:30:50They had one in 95, but then they hadn't gone.
00:30:53And then, now we have this class.
00:30:55It was myself, Swin Cash, Tamika Williams, and Asia Jones.
00:31:00And then you start, you know, getting Diana Taurasi from California.
00:31:03So when I look back at my four years, it was about reestablishing this program where, you know, ultimately it
00:31:11became the dominant program that it was.
00:31:13When you think of UConn, you think of domination.
00:31:15Domination, that's it.
00:31:16They just kept winning.
00:31:18I mean, it was unbelievable.
00:31:20I truly feel like we'll never see anything like that again in women's college basketball.
00:31:24The national championship goes to Connecticut for the fourth year in a row!
00:31:30Geno truly is in a league of his own, and he's got the rings to prove it.
00:31:40Don Staley was an assistant on some of Geno Auriemma's Olympic teams where he was the head coach.
00:31:45I'm sure she would say she's learned from him.
00:31:47But trust me, there is some Philly in there.
00:31:50There's some FU in there.
00:31:53I think both of them being from the Philly area, I think there's a toughness there.
00:31:57I think there's a very realness there.
00:31:59I think both of them are kind of no bullshit people.
00:32:02Push it down their throat.
00:32:05Keep running.
00:32:06Rim the rim.
00:32:08Rim the rim, okay?
00:32:12And South Carolina wins the opening tip.
00:32:15Raven Johnson with a pull-up.
00:32:17Follows her own miss.
00:32:19Off the window, around and out.
00:32:20You made your line up to shoot that jumper.
00:32:23You got Ashley coming right down the pipe.
00:32:26Drop it off to her!
00:32:27The intensity level that Dawn has on the sideline and that her teams display,
00:32:32that's a direct correlation to when she played.
00:32:36That's who she is as a person.
00:32:39Dawn doesn't take the backseat to anybody about anything.
00:32:43Here comes UConn.
00:32:45That's what South Carolina fears most.
00:32:49Pow!
00:32:51I said pow!
00:32:55You know, Dawn would bring her South Carolina teams up to UConn.
00:32:59I remember the kids coming in to shoot around and kind of looking up at all the banners,
00:33:03and I vividly remember that moment of South Carolina taking it all in,
00:33:09and Dawn Staley saying, I want them to see where we're trying to go.
00:33:15Here's Becker's got it.
00:33:16Mid-range.
00:33:17She has four.
00:33:20Get your ass over there!
00:33:25Right back at it.
00:33:26UConn turns it.
00:33:28Arnold with the depth.
00:33:29And the block from out of nowhere by Watkins!
00:33:32Pow Pow steps back!
00:33:34And!
00:33:35Knocks down another one!
00:33:37Sticker! Sticker, Powell!
00:33:39South Carolina rolls the victory over UConn.
00:33:44Good job. You know it. Thank you.
00:33:45Appreciate it. You too.
00:33:46It's a nice team you've had this year.
00:33:47Thank you. Appreciate it.
00:33:48What you've seen with South Carolina and UConn,
00:33:50with Dawn and Coach Ariema,
00:33:52is UConn's the measuring stick.
00:33:55And I think we are currently in that moment of that changeover.
00:34:02It's interesting, right?
00:34:03Everybody else is coming for that standard.
00:34:06Who is it right now?
00:34:08Well, of course, it's Dawn Staley.
00:34:10So I would imagine, like, the dynamic, maybe it's similar to when Coach first started and Pat Summitt was the
00:34:17standard.
00:34:19You can't ever forget about Pat Summitt. Let me tell you, she has an incredibly successful record at Tennessee.
00:34:25Pat had a huge impact on the growth of women's basketball setting the standard for how things can be done.
00:34:31Eight national championships. Incredible.
00:34:33And to do it with such incredible class.
00:34:37She's been to the Summit three times now.
00:34:40With Baby in tow, she's a champion again.
00:34:43She was tough and stern and caring and loving for her players.
00:34:47No nonsense.
00:34:49Kind of all of the traits that great male coaches had at the time.
00:34:52And she showed that you could be a strong, powerful, classy woman doing those same things in a woman's sport.
00:35:01Tennessee.
00:35:02They were the standard.
00:35:03They were winning all the national championships, right?
00:35:05And what do you have to do to get there?
00:35:06You have to beat them.
00:35:07Early on at ESPN, when Williams College Basketball was just getting started on television,
00:35:11our wonderful programming exec, Carol Stiff, wanted to make this rivalry with UConn and North Carolina.
00:35:18And North Carolina said no.
00:35:20She called Pat and Pat said, of course.
00:35:23Pat Summitt said, for the good of the game, we will play UConn.
00:35:27And this rivalry is born.
00:35:29A very talented lineup for Pat Summitt.
00:35:32And they will go up against Gino Auriemma's Huskies.
00:35:35That game probably is still one of the great moments in the history of UConn basketball.
00:35:40Zoddy looking for three.
00:35:42And nailed it.
00:35:43For the first time in school history.
00:35:46They have to beat it.
00:35:48The previously unbeaten Tennessee Lady Bulls.
00:35:52Not just the way the game was played and the fact that we won, but the aftermath.
00:35:56When a half an hour later, they're trying to clear the building because nobody left their seat.
00:36:01It became the biggest, best rivalry in all of women's sports.
00:36:06Not just women's college basketball.
00:36:07All of women's sports.
00:36:08That rivalry may have done more for women's college basketball than anything else.
00:36:13They had some of the best players ever to play college basketball.
00:36:16We had some of the best players ever.
00:36:18Karazi Heath.
00:36:20He's going to play with Candace Parker.
00:36:22He's pretty much the only player on the floor who can elevate and catch that ball.
00:36:26If there was only one women's game in any bar in America, that was going to be it.
00:36:30Gino is the standard.
00:36:33Pat Summitt is always my North Star.
00:36:35But you know, there has been a little bit of a changing of the guard.
00:36:51Champ? Good?
00:36:56You see them? Champ?
00:36:58You see them?
00:37:01You see them?
00:37:17All black will work any day.
00:37:20If I got some type of color on, I probably have thought about it.
00:37:25It's t-shirt day today, so it's a little bit easier.
00:37:28Senior day, we just pay tribute to them
00:37:30by putting their faces on senior t-shirts.
00:37:34So I had that out, had that out, but it's raining,
00:37:40and these don't really operate well in the rain.
00:37:44What we play, we play Tennessee, so I can wear navy,
00:37:49because that's not their color.
00:37:51That might work.
00:37:53Then you got to figure out shoes, and that's a hardship there.
00:37:57Things need to work.
00:37:58I hope I didn't wear this before.
00:38:00I don't think so.
00:38:02Something on top.
00:38:04A garnet sweater?
00:38:07I don't have a garnet sweater.
00:38:09That's not this.
00:38:15Boom.
00:38:15I knew it.
00:38:21It might be it.
00:38:22Tied all together.
00:38:24Game day fit is activated.
00:38:28Come here, come here, Camilla.
00:38:30Kimah, come here.
00:38:31Pow, go in the front, pow.
00:38:33Senior day, it's a bittersweet moment.
00:38:36There's probably going to be some tears.
00:38:39It's their day.
00:38:41We want to honor them.
00:38:45King!
00:38:46I love you, King.
00:38:48King, go around and take a picture.
00:38:53Camilla!
00:38:55And I know that our fans are going to show out.
00:38:58We've put out nothing but positivity for our athletics department, our university, the city, and the state.
00:39:06So when we needed them the most to send the energy back, it came back in a positive way.
00:39:19When Dawn Staley took the job at South Carolina, I remember thinking, what?
00:39:24I remember my grandmother was watching the news, and I see this little short lady with a bust-down middle
00:39:29part,
00:39:29coming from Temple, from Philly, and they're like, yeah, she's the next women's basketball coach.
00:39:35I don't think anyone thought South Carolina could be what they are today.
00:39:41For Coach Staley, what was she up against?
00:39:43Like, I would imagine someone standing at the bottom of Everest.
00:39:46When I first got to South Carolina, it was a build.
00:39:49You get yourself to another game, and then the sky is a nook from there.
00:39:55South Carolina, the only undefeated team.
00:39:58They are dominating opponents.
00:40:00If I'm not mistaken, they were about 100 to 200 people a game.
00:40:04Now they're at 15,000, 18,000.
00:40:07You know, they are going crazy in South Carolina.
00:40:14Fifth sellout of the season, a South Carolina single-season record,
00:40:18and they are ready to take on Tennessee.
00:40:21The South Carolinians that poured into our program in a way that is quite unimaginable.
00:40:29Like, we are the epicenter of women's basketball.
00:40:33We are what every other program across the country is striving for.
00:40:39The success, the attendance, we're entertaining.
00:40:45I think if you look at the trajectory of Pat Summitt and what she built at Tennessee,
00:40:49and you look at the trajectory of what Dawn Staley built at South Carolina, there's a lot of parallels.
00:40:54Pat put fans in the seats.
00:40:55Pat won at a high level.
00:40:57She got paid a million dollars.
00:40:59Dawn Staley is getting paid $4 million a year now.
00:41:02If anything good that comes out of our game today, I probably think we probably deserve a little bit more.
00:41:09So let's fight for a little bit more.
00:41:12Know our worth.
00:41:13Really understand and know our worth.
00:41:16Not just take what people give us.
00:41:28I love what Dawn Staley represents to be the highest paid coach in women's basketball.
00:41:36And she's a black woman from Philadelphia.
00:41:39That shit means something.
00:41:42You have a black woman standing on the logo of Colonial Life Arena.
00:41:53Like, just thinking about South Carolina and all the history of South Carolina,
00:41:57all the history of the South in general.
00:42:00When Dawn took the job, the Confederate flag flew on the lawn of the state capitol.
00:42:08And I think Dawn is one that takes on a challenge, especially if somebody tells her
00:42:17it's something that she can't do.
00:42:19She's going to prove you wrong.
00:42:27Hello, y'all.
00:42:51How important was Dawn as a recruiter?
00:42:55Well, she's the closer.
00:42:58She's the one that has to bring it home because
00:43:029.9 out of players, they want to play for her.
00:43:06Joyce Edwards.
00:43:08Should be the antler for Camden.
00:43:11Joyce Edwards.
00:43:13Tiffany Mitchell, our first kid, she had a life-size poster of Dawn because she would play with the
00:43:18Sting, right?
00:43:19They want to be All-Americans.
00:43:21They want to be national championships.
00:43:22They want to be Olympians.
00:43:23It's viable to them every day.
00:43:25It's touchable.
00:43:25They can see it.
00:43:26Joyce Edwards.
00:43:28You got to understand, when Dawn started, South Carolina wasn't the hotbed of women's basketball.
00:43:34And how she built it was, number one, getting local kids.
00:43:39But we have been very fortunate in that we've had some of the best talent in the country right here
00:43:47in Columbia, South Carolina.
00:43:51We got Tiff Mitchell, and we started having a little more success, but then we got Asia, and we never
00:43:58looked back after that.
00:44:04It's crazy.
00:44:05Being a local kid, Coach Daly, and just who she is and her demeanor, she never really shook from that.
00:44:11She was like, I'm trusting you to take us to the promised land.
00:44:13And then that's when she got Tiff, and when Tiff got there, it was just a shift of energy.
00:44:17You could tell kind of with our class, it was like, that's the missing piece.
00:44:21We were the piece that made it all come together.
00:44:24But we can't be a piece if we didn't have the biggest pieces before us.
00:44:28Then Asia Wilson says yes, and on down that line of people who have taken a chance on Don Staley.
00:44:34And now, now you're praying that Don Staley is going to take a chance on you.
00:44:44I'm a dream merchant for our players.
00:44:47Like, they, I'm responsible for them and their careers.
00:44:51I feel that, I take on that.
00:44:53I do, because that's why they come play for me.
00:44:57Because they, they know.
00:44:59They know I take that very, very seriously.
00:45:05It's something truly special.
00:45:06Staying home and where Coach Daly was, was it.
00:45:08And to see the next generation stay home and thrive in that and trust,
00:45:13and trust Coach Daly, it warms my heart up.
00:45:16Y'all right? Y'all right?
00:45:21Let's that one.
00:45:22Let's get that game ball.
00:45:24You know, she talks about being a dream merchant.
00:45:26And watching her coach, her players.
00:45:29She is so hard on them, but she loves them and knows how great they can be.
00:45:36And I think that's how she sees the game of basketball.
00:45:39She sees how great this game can be, and she has a vision for it.
00:45:47We got you now. We got you now. We got you now. We got you now.
00:45:51Winning isn't personal to me.
00:45:54It's more beneficial to everything that I represent.
00:46:00I never get tired of telling this story.
00:46:02When I was coaching at Tennessee in 95, we went to the championship, but we lost.
00:46:09The very next year, I went to Kentucky.
00:46:10I was at the final four when Tennessee won the championship, and Passion Thompson,
00:46:16when she climbed the ladder, she cut two pieces down and handed me a piece of the neck.
00:46:20And she said, Coach Beck, I want you to keep this until you win one of your own.
00:46:24And Purdue is 34-1 and national champion.
00:46:33When I won the championship in 99, had a reporter come up to me and asked me,
00:46:37Carolyn, how does it feel to be the first black coach to win a national championship?
00:46:42I had never thought about it.
00:46:44Well, if I was the first, that meant there was going to be a second.
00:46:49I felt like Dawn was going to do it. She's got it to win a championship.
00:46:54And I thought, this is going to be the opportunity.
00:46:57And since I was the first, she was going to be the next.
00:47:00And I gave her the net, and I said, now, you just keep this until you win one of your
00:47:05own.
00:47:05It was a process that did not happen overnight.
00:47:08Didn't happen anywhere near as fast as she or I wanted it.
00:47:11It took a lot longer than we thought.
00:47:13If you're not winning when you're used to winning, you got to imagine, Dawn won.
00:47:17She won at Virginia. She won with USA Basketball.
00:47:20Then she goes to South Carolina, where there's 25 people in the arena, and she's getting hammered.
00:47:25She has a will to win, and she has the ability to put a will to win in others.
00:47:33In 2016, we shared a car. Dawn looks in her wallet, and she pulled out the net.
00:47:38She goes, you see, I carry it with me everywhere I go.
00:47:412017 came around, and I can remember it like it was yesterday.
00:47:46We're watching the game, and as it gets closer to the end, I'm like, y'all, she's going to do
00:47:52it.
00:47:53We had a sense of like, this is us. It's our year. Like, we need to go do this.
00:47:58And, you know, we're boo-hooing, and Dawn is like super stoic, right?
00:48:04I mean, she was happy, but, you know, super stoic.
00:48:08And I remember I was in her room. It was like 2 o'clock in the morning. It was just
00:48:11her and I.
00:48:12And I looked at her, and I said, now what? What do we do now?
00:48:18We're going to win another one for you.
00:48:22Winning that championship in 2022, I feel like it still brings back chills because that's what you dream of.
00:48:29You dream of going to college. You dream of winning a national championship.
00:48:31And I think winning against UConn elevated it because UConn has been this top program.
00:48:41South Carolina is a dynasty, and Coach Daley has built something so strong, something so powerful that people want to
00:48:47be a part of it.
00:48:47Our national championship wins will never leave me.
00:48:51I represent black people who don't often get opportunity to be successful on the highest stage.
00:48:58You know, I'm going to have to pass a piece of my net on to somebody else so they can
00:49:03share and hopefully accomplish something as big as this.
00:49:08A few years after that, we met each other again, and she said, I got something for you.
00:49:13So she had the piece of the net that I gave her, and she returned it back to me.
00:49:19And she asked me, she's like, okay, who are we giving the next one to?
00:49:22And so she took her net and divided it and gave it to all the black coaches.
00:49:27And I was like, well, that's taking it to another level.
00:49:32When she gave out the net, you know, that brought attention to all the other African-American coaches out there.
00:49:39You've created a lane for us, and it's very powerful and inspiring.
00:49:43And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
00:49:44Keep shining, Queen, and good luck to everyone.
00:49:47Dawn Staley's gesture of cutting out a piece of her net from winning the national championship was really, was amazing.
00:49:55She knows that it's bigger than basketball.
00:49:57It's about paying it forward so others can also be inspired and be successful.
00:50:01I'm just really appreciative of her mentorship and her leadership.
00:50:04It's really powerful what she's done for this game as a player and a coach.
00:50:08Dawn reminds me of the saying, it says, when the sun shines on you, what will you do with the
00:50:14light?
00:50:14She spreads the light.
00:50:21I'm going to try to treat people good, just because.
00:50:29I don't have anything to protect besides my organic self, my authentic self.
00:50:39People can be who they want to be.
00:50:42They can be who they're comfortable, you know, in their skin being.
00:50:46I think that perfect balance of having fun with them, like knowing when to dance.
00:50:54With social media and all the following that her team has, she always seems like she has the time and
00:50:58she
00:50:58has the space to, to connect.
00:51:06I just feel like young people now can see through people that aren't real.
00:51:10I think people respect the truth.
00:51:13And I think that's why, you know, the fans are drawn because they see that.
00:51:16I think years ago, 96, et cetera, we didn't have the legitimacy.
00:51:21Now we have more media coverage.
00:51:24We have social media.
00:51:26You know, the suits at the broadcast networks that used to bury the women's basketball,
00:51:31they can't bury social media.
00:51:32It's power to the people.
00:51:35Social media made a huge difference, right?
00:51:38Fans want to see women's basketball.
00:51:41They're enjoying it like never before.
00:51:43Young people have access to it in a way that they don't need their parents permission to change the
00:51:48channel to watch it.
00:51:49Lisa Leslie was a big personality, just like Angel Reese's big personality.
00:51:53The difference is everyone sees Angel's big personality multiple times a day on social media.
00:51:58I've been waiting for you, OG.
00:52:00Cheers.
00:52:01Players now have the ability to create their own brand identity.
00:52:05I want my legacy to be that I left the game in a better place.
00:52:08I feel like I am very lucky when it comes to just my agency.
00:52:11Brands are starting to invest in us and business is booming at the perfect time as it should.
00:52:16It's about time.
00:52:17I always say that it feels like there's been a lot of people pushing this giant boulder up the hill
00:52:23in women's sports.
00:52:25And now it's like that boulder is rolling on its own.
00:52:28The fun part of the explosion of women's basketball is the fashion sense and the flavor and the flair.
00:52:34And now you're seeing like Dawn Staley, she is probably the best dressed coach in America.
00:52:43Is that a world for the house?
00:52:44Well, what would I do?
00:52:46This is a world wherever you want to do with it.
00:52:48I might wear this on the sideline.
00:52:50I will mess them up.
00:52:52Yes.
00:52:57Count me in with this one.
00:52:59When she was coaching us, slayed for the gods every game.
00:53:04You got to make them reach for it sometimes.
00:53:05Oh, those look good.
00:53:07They actually do.
00:53:08I think what Dawn wears has meaning behind it.
00:53:11Her success opened the platform and the door to just, you know, be whoever she wants to be.
00:53:18And I think that's a beautiful thing.
00:53:20And I think she's empowered a whole new generation.
00:53:23I feel like fashion is so great for us as female athletes because it allows
00:53:30people to see our personality.
00:53:33I love the fact that tunnel walks are now like this thing that people are like,
00:53:37oh my gosh, what are they going to have on?
00:53:38It's a men suit.
00:53:42I firmly believe that this is, this marks a tipping point for the world of women's basketball.
00:53:50For a really long time, women's basketball has lacked this cool factor.
00:53:55For a really long time, we've been the butt of the joke.
00:53:59But now how they talk about the teams, the players has really shifted.
00:54:04These players, their brands blow up and they become big.
00:54:09Juju was putting on a show out on the West Coast.
00:54:12And I remember Paige Becker's coming into college with a million followers.
00:54:16People are obsessed with Angel Reiss. They're obsessed with Flaje Johnson.
00:54:22And of course, the standout stars, you stop and end with Kaitlyn Clark.
00:54:26Okay, I'll shoot.
00:54:27What's happening?
00:54:28But I don't see any hoop.
00:54:30Okay.
00:54:30Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
00:54:32Kaitlyn, she's a game changer.
00:54:35And we have to give her her flowers because of what she's done and the popularity that
00:54:40she alone has brought.
00:54:43And now we finally have crossed over where we're not the butt of the SNL joke.
00:54:48Basketball star Kaitlyn Clark will have her jersey retired and replaced with an apron.
00:54:53In fact, Kaitlyn went on there and made her own joke.
00:54:56I brought you a souvenir. It's an apron signed by me.
00:55:03But also with social media, there is something a little bit more sinister and uninformed about the
00:55:11attention a lot of these players are getting.
00:55:12We all know that there's a white-black issue here because the fact of the matter is when Kaitlyn did
00:55:18it,
00:55:18people were celebrating it. And they were talking about nothing but her greatness.
00:55:22But then the second a sister stepped up and threw it back in her face, now you got half the
00:55:27basketball
00:55:28world saying, well, you know what? That's not the classiest thing to do.
00:55:33Kaitlyn Clark, her fan base, they're like Swifties.
00:55:36I mean, they are passionate. They are an army. They are very protective.
00:55:42I think with the introduction of Kaitlyn and Angel and like the race baiting of that,
00:55:48more trolls and more bots entered. And a lot of people don't know how to navigate that. And what
00:55:52happened was false narratives were created. So I feel like that's what we experienced. And it really,
00:55:58I think, speaks more to America than anything else.
00:56:02Now that women's basketball is hot, we got skimmers and screamers. They skim across social media,
00:56:10got a headline or a highlight, but don't know what led to that.
00:56:14It's kind of the worst part of the growth that we're seeing right now is how toxic the conversation
00:56:18around it has gotten and how targeted it's been at certain players, mostly black players,
00:56:23plenty of queer players.
00:56:27Those aren't fans. Those are trolls. And it's a real disservice to the people in our league.
00:56:32The bigger your name gets, the more people see your face,
00:56:36the more people are going to try to tear you down. But that's life.
00:56:40If you ain't had no haters, you ain't popping. And you have to stay poised through all that noise.
00:56:55Hello. How you doing? Thank you.
00:56:59Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming this afternoon to the 2024 Women's Naismith Awards.
00:57:07Look at this. It's incredible. For those of us that have been around the game,
00:57:12as long as we've been bouncing a ball and they've put air in it, it is amazing to see
00:57:18what we have here today. Hello, Caitlin. I didn't see you earlier.
00:57:22I said hi to everyone but you. All right, before we announce our winners,
00:57:26we wanted to take a moment and recognize...
00:57:29Caitlin Clark is a generational talent, like truly transformational talent.
00:57:38She's doing things that no other woman has done, which is shoot logo threes, incredible court vision.
00:57:45People are fascinated by her. It's great for viewership. It's great for TV numbers. It's great
00:57:52for all of it. Caitlin Clark, University of Iowa.
00:57:56All right. Well, thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you for the Naismith Award.
00:58:00But the fact is, you look at the people who are different than her, meaning black players or like
00:58:07pro players now, they've been doing this for, you know, such a long time. And it seems to be
00:58:14unappreciated. I think it's been a special year for women's basketball. So to win this award is really
00:58:18special. You know, most of the population is white. So when she's white, talented, transformational,
00:58:27generational, more of the population identifies with that. I'm just very grateful and thankful.
00:58:34And I'll see you on Friday night.
00:58:39But at the end of the day, I do think it's a space for it all.
00:58:45I think there is something to be said for the fact that the player that seemingly the whole world has
00:58:50come around to support and turn out for is a white girl next door, Caitlin Clark. And some of that
00:58:58feels kind of just unavoidable. It's like, it's kind of no one's fault, but that's what's kind of
00:59:02dominating the narrative. Rebecca Lobo comes to mind in the 90s. You know, she was the young white player
00:59:10on a team of mostly black women, and she was the one who was getting all the media attention.
00:59:18And it's unfair to Caitlin, because she doesn't know. She really doesn't know.
00:59:24It's even bigger than her. I think we're just, we're just scratching the surface. And I know,
00:59:30you know, Caitlin Clark has a lot to do with what's happening this year. But there's also a lot of
00:59:35experienced players that have stepped into the spotlight and has taken women's basketball to
00:59:41incredible heights. I don't, I don't see us slowing down at any time soon. I'm proud to announce that
00:59:46the 2024 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year is Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina.
00:59:55I'm just going to tell you my thoughts from what I experienced. And if it's from a black woman's
01:00:01point of view, that's what it's from. Like, it's not to shade anybody else.
01:00:08Thank you. But people think of me when, if I tweet something,
01:00:11my bias comes off as racist social media posts.
01:00:25You don't shy away from talking about what needs to be talked about, whether it's women or race or
01:00:31whatever it is. Why is that so important? I'm not here to offend anybody. That's not my character.
01:00:37So if you're just tuning in for one interview and you probably heard it from somebody else and heard
01:00:42from somebody else, I'm not going to apologize for what I said and what I feel because
01:00:49I know my life and I know why things have happened in my life. Honestly, I'm really not focused on
01:00:54these awards. I just want one, one thing, one thing and trying to get another national championship.
01:01:01You try to write a movie script that it's Kaitlyn Clark, the record breaker
01:01:05and her scrappy Iowa team trying to win a national championship.
01:01:08How will she go for history? There it is!
01:01:13The all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball.
01:01:18And then you just bring in this little feisty, undefeated South Carolina team.
01:01:23You just can't write a better script than that.
01:01:26Cardoso for three.
01:01:28Bakes it in!
01:01:32Everyone wanted to see, of course, the matchup between South Carolina and Iowa.
01:01:37The Gamecocks preparing for their national championship showdown against Iowa
01:01:42after they knocked USC out of the tournament last year.
01:01:46Yep, it's time, y'all. It's time.
01:01:49What loss sticks with you the most?
01:01:52Oh, by far, Iowa in the Final Four.
01:01:58Devastating.
01:02:00And the public doesn't know what actually happened, you know, in a loss that will never leave me.
01:02:08All the way in, lays it home!
01:02:13Iowa has conquered South Carolina!
01:02:17It was devastating for my players.
01:02:20It was the end of their careers.
01:02:23I was heartbroken.
01:02:25We were seniors. We don't get another chance.
01:02:27And I think the way our season was going, like, everything was just in line for us to win a
01:02:32championship.
01:02:32And then they changed our schedule in real time, because it went totally against what was in the manual.
01:02:39Like, how can you do that?
01:02:42Iowa, they got an extra day of rest, but they don't have a higher seed than us.
01:02:49Was it because you took a predominantly all-white team and wanted to play them on Sunday at 3.30
01:02:55in prime time?
01:02:56I mean, Kaitlyn and all of the following and the viewership over a predominantly black team.
01:03:03We deserved the rest.
01:03:05Why did your number one overall seed get booted?
01:03:09That's wrong.
01:03:10And you can't tell me otherwise.
01:03:12It was our national championship to be had.
01:03:16Staley misses, still can't get it.
01:03:19The title goes to Knoxville again.
01:03:22I was really good in college, never won a championship.
01:03:26Man, you got to win a championship.
01:03:28You got to win a championship.
01:03:30So that's me personally.
01:03:33Like, I had a great career.
01:03:36But it's always that you win a championship.
01:03:44Don will tell you, she doesn't ever want her players to have the feeling that she had
01:03:50when she didn't win it at Virginia.
01:03:55Great coaches, they care about their teams getting what they feel they really deserve.
01:04:02For Don, it was a heartbreak in the semifinal loss to Iowa in 2023.
01:04:09When I look back on it, I do think we were the sacrificial lambs of the growth of our game.
01:04:20You can say I'm a sore loser.
01:04:21You can say whatever you want to say about me.
01:04:24But after that season, I'm not going to be the sacrificial lamb to anyone anymore.
01:04:31This national championship run, F that.
01:04:34F that.
01:04:35F that.
01:04:36Y'all not going to do what you did to us last year.
01:05:0223-24 saw the popularity of women's college basketball sky.
01:05:08Skyrocket ratings on television like we had never seen.
01:05:13Certain teams and players having followings.
01:05:17There was just a different momentum swirling around the sport.
01:05:22You had these incredible big moments that lead to the national championship game that,
01:05:28wait a minute, Iowa and South Carolina, a rematch of the heartbreak for South Carolina
01:05:32from the year before.
01:05:34You could not have scripted it any better.
01:05:36It's all come down to this as South Carolina and Iowa prepare to do battle in the NCAA Division
01:05:42One Women's Basketball Championship game.
01:05:45Perhaps the most anticipated women's college basketball game ever.
01:05:50South Carolina in pursuit of a perfect season.
01:05:53And it's Kaitlin Clark's final game.
01:06:00I don't pray for wins.
01:06:02I don't pray for losses.
01:06:05I pray that we're able to play to the best of our ability.
01:06:11And we'll take the win or we'll take the loss.
01:06:14So much attention around this game.
01:06:17For a second straight year, Iowa has grabbed the attention of the nation.
01:06:22And they're ready to go tonight.
01:06:25South Carolina has not lost since falling to Iowa in the semifinals a year ago.
01:06:32Seeking redemption and a title today.
01:06:35Jump it up.
01:06:35And the national championship is underway.
01:06:39The game lived up to it all.
01:06:41There was great performances.
01:06:43Clark, open three.
01:06:45It is good!
01:06:46A 10-0 right hook from Iowa to begin the national championship game.
01:06:52He had the best team going against the best player.
01:06:56Man, it was fun to watch.
01:06:57Here's Clark, wheeling, taking, and banking at home.
01:07:03A stunning opening corner from Clark.
01:07:07She has 18, the most ever in a championship game corner.
01:07:15What a start for the Hawkeyes.
01:07:21Wiley in off the bench for South Carolina.
01:07:25She is a game changer.
01:07:27But Wiley flips it ahead.
01:07:30Johnson, another!
01:07:32Tessa Johnson!
01:07:35A freshman in status only.
01:07:37There were just so many layers to that game.
01:07:42Layers of greatness or layers of revenge.
01:07:47You know, the way Caitlyn waved off Raven Johnson the year before.
01:07:50Watch Caitlyn Clark.
01:07:51She doesn't even look at her, waves her hand as if to say,
01:07:54I don't care about you, I'm not defending you!
01:07:57And that's a moment that played on shows for a while after that game.
01:08:02It's a moment that Raven had to overcome.
01:08:05Rock clock turns off and Johnson picks the pocket of Clark!
01:08:09Raven Johnson lays it in!
01:08:13What a momentum buster to end the half!
01:08:15You know, if you're Iowa, you've come back from deficits before.
01:08:20Clark, the crossover, and the hit from three!
01:08:23A big one for Iowa, and they build off it.
01:08:2730 for Clark.
01:08:30But Riley dumps it in.
01:08:33Hits, can't finish.
01:08:35Cardozo feels inevitable.
01:08:39What a crescendo here this afternoon for women's basketball.
01:08:49Perfection with a touch of sweet redemption.
01:08:54Undefeated South Carolina has won its third national championship.
01:09:12They went 38-0 and won a national championship.
01:09:17That is what your goals and dreams are.
01:09:19And to do that undefeated, like, I'm low-key mad at them,
01:09:21because why would y'all do that?
01:09:23We were supposed to go undefeated.
01:09:25That's what we were supposed to do.
01:09:25But, I mean, they did it.
01:09:33Like, when I knew we won, I had to hold back on the sideline,
01:09:37because I was like, oh, no, don't let this happen.
01:09:39Like, I'm fighting myself to not allow myself to be emotional in that moment.
01:09:48I don't think there'll ever be another undefeated team in our sport,
01:09:53because it's too good.
01:09:54Like, teams are too good.
01:09:57Players are too good.
01:09:58You're one of the toughest to ever come out of Philly.
01:10:01We don't see these tears from you often.
01:10:12Culturally, it meant we were able to overcome.
01:10:17You feel the pressure of being black.
01:10:20You do.
01:10:21I felt the pressure of upholding the type of success that black people need in our sport.
01:10:30Having the weight of all of that on our shoulders.
01:10:34But also, all of these great players, we are standing on their shoulders.
01:10:43We should never, ever forget their contributions to our sport,
01:10:46because if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be standing where we are today.
01:10:55If you don't get a Lynette Woodard, then maybe you don't get a Dawn Staley.
01:10:59And then maybe you don't get a Kaitlyn Clark.
01:11:03All of these women are built on the backs of the other great women.
01:11:07And so I think the moment is that we are all lifting each other up.
01:11:13My mission is to uplift women's basketball.
01:11:17Yes, we must continue to grow.
01:11:19And collectively, we're going to have to do it together.
01:11:27There was a really poignant moment at the end of the national championship.
01:11:31We're on the stage.
01:11:32The presentation is almost over.
01:11:33And Dawn Staley said,
01:11:34I want to personally thank Kaitlyn Clark for lifting up our sport.
01:11:40She carried a heavy load.
01:11:43Well, Kaitlyn Clark, you are one of the goats of our games.
01:11:48And we appreciate you.
01:11:51Kaitlyn Clark bringing a whole new audience to the sport,
01:11:54captivating Milius with her dominating, unabashed play.
01:12:16My body, my body, baby, these triceps, baby, these triceps can handle anything.
01:12:22The women's game taking center stage at March Madness,
01:12:26breaking ratings records, and changing the perceptions about the popularity of women's sports.
01:12:33Flares up, baby.
01:12:34You feel the shift.
01:12:35And Robin, it was absolutely must-see TV.
01:12:41I've got you set.
01:12:4418.7 million.
01:12:45That's the average number of viewers tuning in for the women's title game.
01:12:49For the first time, more TV viewers in the men's final game.
01:12:53Day 9.7 million.
01:12:55Day 9.7 million.
01:13:08Day 9.7 million.
01:13:12Day 9.7 million.
Comments