CLEVELAND — As Dawn Staley worked in her office last month, she received a call from C. Vivian Stringer. The Hall of Fame coach was reaching out to congratulate Staley on an undefeated regular season.
They’ve known each other for decades, and Staley’s reverence for Stringer remains strong.
“When you get a call from a legendary coach, it gives you inspiration, it gives you stamina, it gives you what you need in that moment to have the strength to continue on with whatever challenges you’re faced with,” Staley said Saturday. As South Carolina and Iowa meet in Sunday’s national championship, Stringer is a thread connected to both programs.
To Staley, Stringer is a mentor. They grew close after Stringer tried to recruit Staley to Iowa in the 1980s. Staley chose Virginia, but their bond has been tight, becoming stronger still when Stringer coached Staley on the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team. In 2018, Staley described her as “a powerful voice in our game, our profession, and never more than when you reach back to those who aspire to continue your legacy of growing our game.”
To Iowa and coach Lisa Bluder, Stringer is a foundational figure, integral in building the base that Caitlin Clark now stands (or rather, shoots) on. Bluder’s admiration for Stringer, like…
