Final Four: South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, A’ja Wilson share full-circle moment with Las Vegas Aces star launching her own shoe

TAMPA, Fla. — This city holds a lot of history for Dawn Staley, A’ja Wilson and South Carolina.

It was here, in Tampa, that they played in their first Final Four in 2015, one year after Wilson committed to Staley’s program. That decision shaped South Carolina into the powerhouse it is today, and now, Staley is back, hoping to lead South Carolina to its fourth NCAA title. Wilson is here, too, hosting an event for her Nike shoe, the A’One. On Wednesday, as Wilson introduced the A’One Experience, Staley was by her side. It was a full-circle moment for the duo, but it was also a full-circle moment for Staley in another way. Because in 1999, it was Staley debuting her own shoe: The Nike Zoom S5.

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It’s been 26 years since it hit the market, but Staley thinks her shoe stands the test of time.

“Oh, I have the best signature shoe,” she said with a laugh. “Mine still looks pretty good. Especially compared to some of the other ones.”

Staley has her keen eye for fashion to thank for that, but some of the credit also belongs to Michelle Bain-Brink — yes, the mother of current WNBA player Cameron Brink — who was working for Nike and assisted Staley in the design process.

Bain-Brink helped design signature shoes for Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Cynthia Cooper, but Staley’s sticks out in mind.

“Dawn’s was my favorite,” Bain-Brink said. “Because she is so real, honest, open and raw.”

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Bain-Brink started the process the same way she did with any shoe. She asked about Staley’s favorite piece of clothing, had her send pictures of her closet and inquired about her home decor. But ultimately, Staley wanted the shoe to represent who she was as a player rather than focusing on a particular aesthetic. They decided on a black-and-white design, with the two colors blending together when Staley sprinted down the court. The dual-toned shoe represented the two sides of Staley, Bain-Brink said: On the court she was a beast, but off of it, Staley was chill.

“It ended up being more about her personality,” Bain-Brink said. “She wanted to really lock down the way she played. She wanted to be low to the ground, so we didn’t do visible air, and she wanted to feel locked in, so that is why we added the strap.”

While Wilson’s shoe represents the various aspects of her background, like the Celtic symbols that represent the names of her mom and dad, Staley wanted hers to focus on the game she played.

“For me, I was a basketball player, so it represented my love and passion for the game,” Staley said. “It was less about me individually. The shoe was about basketball and creating a shoe for women in basketball.”

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Even though Staley was years away from creating a powerhouse program at South Carolina, Bain-Brink could already see the vision. Because Staley was so genuine, Bain-Brink and others were instantly drawn to her. So much so that Bain-Brink even has a picture of Staley holding her son Cy when he was an infant. Two decades later, Bain-Brink took Cameron on a recruiting trip to South Carolina, and even though she ultimately chose Stanford, Staley was one of the first people to offer Cameron a scholarship. That still means something to the family.

“She was so real with Cam,” Bain-Brink said. “She told Cameron that she wanted to coach her, but she wasn’t going to call her every week, and wasn’t going to babysit her. And that is what you love about Dawn. You know what you are going to get with her.”

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That’s part of the reason Wilson decided to stay in her hometown to play basketball. The No. 1 recruit had never committed to South Carolina, but Wilson believed in Staley and her messaging. Two years later they went to the Final Four. Two years after that they won a national championship together. And now, they are in the same town celebrating each other’s success.

For Staley, seeing Wilson get her shoe means more than the Nike Zoom S5 ever did. In part because Staley’s was a signature shoe, while Wilson’s is entirely her own, but also because of what it represents.

“Getting to wear one of my player’s shoes means everything to me,” Staley said. “And I know what went into her basically forcing Nike’s hand to do it because of her contributions to the game. Nike was going to do it regardless, but all of us (at South Carolina) threw our hat in the ring to protect A’ja’s legacy and her getting what she deserved.”

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Staley supported Wilson throughout college and she continues to do so now. As a show of thanks, Wilson gifted her former coach with a pair of A’Ones before they hit the market.

“I think a lot of times we don’t get the tangible things,” Staley said. “We get the intangible flowers like social media posts. So to have a former player give me one of the first pairs, it was so special.”