NCAAW: Dawn Staley’s book event for shows why she is Uncommon

Released on May 20, Dawn Staley’s memoir, Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three, already sits at No. 2 on the New York Times best sellers list.

The success is unsurprising for Staley, whose almost two-decade tenure as head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks has turned Columbia, SC into one of the epicenters of women’s college basketball. She was in Columbia on Thursday, May 29 for a moderated book discussion that was attended by around 1,000 South Carolina FAMS.

Swish Appeal’s contributing photographer Christina Merrion was also there, witnessing Staley not only share her wisdom, but also take the time to sign books, snap photos and even make beaded bracelets.

She is Uncommon.

During the event, Staley explained why she has embraced that term, which she first used in an interview after South Carolina’s victory in the 2024 national championship game. Staley said:

It was just so fitting. Our theme last year when we won the national championship, undefeatedly, was “Uncommon.” Someone asked me a question, it might have been one of the journalists who asked me, “What does this championship mean to me?” And I immediately, from my heart, said, “It is God’s uncommon favor.”

She continued:

I could never get off of the word uncommon. Uncommon was going to be in the title. And then you put those two words that I use to describe my life. The Lord has been incredibly giving. My cup runneth over when it comes to the success that I have. Those two words describe exactly what has happened for me, from when I was a young child to now and it continues.