The Athletic has live coverage of Iowa vs. South Carolina in the women’s national championship game.
College coaches are the reason so many high school athletes choose a school in the first place. Whether the coach is successful, runs a specific style, develops athletes, creates a strong culture, the person in charge has an influence. With the transfer portal, more players eye coaches throughout their careers.
So The Athletic was curious: If players could choose any coach — other than their own — who would it be? On the flip side, which coach would they not want to play for?
We asked 95 NCAA Tournament players, including 85 in the Sweet 16, questions about their sport. They were granted anonymity to be as candid as possible without fear of repercussions. Some players abstained from answering certain questions. They provided their opinions on a wide range of topics, including the player they’d want to invite on their team and which of their peers are the biggest trash-talkers. We’ll run the rest of the series this week leading up to the Final Four.
For the second straight season, players chose Dawn Staley as the coach — other than their own — who they would most like to play for. Like last year she won the poll by 41 votes, and it was a landslide again.
The top two…
