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The New York Knicks are still searching for their next head coach after firing Tom Thibodeau following an Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Indiana Pacers, and they are checking all the boxes. New York has undergone an extensive search to figure out who their next head coach will be, interviewing multiple quality candidates.
One of those candidates was current South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley, who has established herself as one of the best coaches in college basketball history. Unsurprisingly, her interview with the Knicks went very well, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic.
“Dawn Staley impressed in her conversation with the Knicks about their head coaching vacancy, sources tell @JLEdwardsIII,” The Athletic posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Despite the good interview, the Knicks still seem unlikely to poach Staley from the biggest current powerhouse in women's college basketball. Instead, they are continuing to go after former NBA coaches like Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins.
“As New York continues to search after Tom Thibodeau's firing, the South Carolina head coach was one of the candidates Knicks brass reached out to,” The Athletic wrote. “Despite Staley impressing during the conversation, she is currently not considered a finalist for the position in a race that includes Mike Brown, Taylor Jenkins and others.”
Brown and Jenkins have proven themselves at the NBA level, but neither has the overall coaching resume in basketball that Staley does. She was a six-time WNBA All-Star as a player before taking over the women's college game with the Gamecocks.
As the coach at South Carolina since 2008, Staley has turned the Gamecocks into one of the sport's iconic dynasties. During her time there, she has won three national titles and reached the Final Four seven times.
Thankfully for South Carolina fans, it looks like they don't have much to worry about when it comes to Staley potentially leaving for the Knicks. Despite her predictably impressive interview skills and great qualifications for the job, the likely outcome still is that she will be in Columbia next season and beyond.
