Dawn Staley, former Dobbins Tech basketball star, is one of 12 members of the Class of 2013 who will be enshrined on Sept. 8 in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Staley will join nine-time NBA all-star Gary Payton, seven-time NCAA Final Four coach Rick Pitino from Louisville, four-time NCAA Final Four coach Jerry Tarkanian, five-time NCAA Final Four coach Guy Lewis, four-time NBA all-star Bernard King and three-time National Coach of the Year Sylvia Hatchell.

They join the five directly elected members who were announced during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February. These direct-elects include Roger Brown, voted in from the American Basketball Association (ABA) Committee, Dr. E.B. Henderson from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Oscar Schmidt from the International Committee, Richard Guerin from the Veterans Committee and Russ Granik from the Contributor Direct Election Committee. The class announcement was made at the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.

Staley is one of the most decorated players in women’s basketball history. She was a three-time Olympic gold medalist (1996, 2000 and 2004), five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time National College Player of the year (1991-92). She was named the USA Basketball Female Player of the Year in 1994 and went on to begin her professional career as a two-time ABL All-Star (1997 and 1998) with Richmond and later the Philadelphia Rage.

As a college player, Staley was a three-time Kodak All-America selection (1990-92) at the University of Virginia and she still holds the NCAA career record for steals (454). She led the Cavaliers to three NCAA Final Four appearances and was named NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1991. She is the only player in women’s college basketball history to record 2,000 points, 700 assists and 400 steals.

As a high school player, Staley led Dobbins to three consecutive Public league championships (1986, 1987,1988). The 5-foot-5 guard was named the 1988 USA Today Women’s National Player of the Year.

“Ever since I found out that I was on the ballot, I have been in shock,” said Staley, who is the head women’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina, in a statement. “I still can’t quite embrace how big it is. It’s something that I thought, if it were to happen, would happen when I was much older. It’s a special occasion to be announced, and I’m just trying to enjoy it. It’s overwhelming, but I’m trying to enjoy it.

“I am in disbelief about it. I’ve always wanted to be in the Hall of Fame. Nothing quite preps you for the occasion. You can prep for games and having your players zoned in for the opposition. But, something like this catches you off guard, even when you know it’s a possibility. It’s incredible.”

Staley had an incredible playing career. She’s also done a fine job as a head coach. In 2000, she became the head women’s basketball coach at Temple University. Staley put the Temple women’s basketball program on the map. She spent eight seasons coaching the Owls. She compiled a 172-80 overall record. Staley led Temple to six NCAA tournament appearances.

In 2008, she moved to South Carolina to coach the Gamecocks. She just completed her 13th season overall as a head coach, her fifth at South Carolina. In leading the Gamecocks to a 92-66 record over that time, she guided the team to back-to-back 25 win seasons, including this season’s 25-8 record for the fourth-highest winning percentage in program history. In 2012, Staley guided South Carolina to the NCAA tournament Sweet 16.

Alison Eachus, former William Penn High basketball coach, remembers Staley from her playing days at Dobbins Tech. Eachus has great memories of her carrying the flag at the 2004 Olympics for the United States.

“I told her one day, ‘I said Dawn you’ve done a lot of great things in your life, but when you carried the flag in for the Olympics that was just awesome,” Eachus said. “The reason that was awesome is because it’s one thing to be voted by coaches who coached you or who you played against. But to carry the Olympic flag, your name goes in the hopper with everybody in the Olympics and everybody on the team. Not basketball, but on the Olympic team. So, all the rowers, all the weightlifters, all the volleyball players, they voted her in to carry that flag. It was everybody on the Olympic committee that voted her in. She spans more than basketball. She has really made an impression on a lot of people.”

Staley grew up in North Philadelphia and has represented her community extremely well.

“(During the ceremony), I will probably think most about my foundation, where I grew up in North Philly,” Staley said. “People who grow up in North Philly have a mark against them because of the environment they grew up in. I’ll think about being one who got out and who can go back and share a ray of hope to the little boys and girls who sit where I sat, imprisoned by their circumstances. That’s the main thing I’ll think about.”

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The movie “42,” the life story of baseball great Jackie Robinson, will be in theaters around the country on Friday, April 12.

It’s a movie that everybody should see.

It’s a film that every kid should see who isn’t familiar with Robinson’s story or what he accomplished in his career. It’s a movie for all of today’s major league players for whom Robinson blazed the trail as one of this country’s great pioneers. It’s also a look back in history for all of us to remember this great player and what he stood for.

Robinson broke the color line in Major League Baseball on April 15, 1947 when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him to a contract. It was certainly a historic moment when Robinson integrated the game of baseball.

The movie highlights this significant part of American history. Branch Rickey, Dodgers president, made Robinson the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Rickey inked him to a minor league deal in 1945. Robinson, like many outstanding African Americans, was playing in the Negro League. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs.

Rickey had his eye on Robinson. He had his scout watch him play for the Monarchs. He played for the Montreal Royals in the minors. He played in a lot of small towns in the South. That’s where Robinson got his first taste of discrimination. He played in Sanford, Fla., where he had to stay in the home of a Black family in that community. He could not stay in a hotel.

Rickey knew Robinson would be subjected to all kinds of racism and bigotry, but he didn’t want him to fight back. He knew that’s exactly what people wanted to see. Rickey had planned to end racial segregation in Major League Baseball. He could have signed any number of great players from the Negro League, but he thought Robinson would be more suited to take on the challenge of shattering the color barrier in baseball.

Robinson was well educated. He went to UCLA, where he starred in football, basketball, track and field and baseball. Rickey figured he had the temperament to play baseball at a high level and deal with all the racial fallout.

Although Robinson experienced racism in the minors, it was nothing like what he faced in the majors. First of all, his teammates didn’t even want to play with him. They had put together a petition indicating their disapproval of his playing for the Dodgers.

Teams did everything to show their resentment of Robinson’s being in the majors. Pitchers deliberately threw at his head in the batter’s box. In addition, fans, teams and players shouted all kinds of racial comments when he was on the field. You have to see the movie to hear all the things that were said to him.

The film highlighted an individual who played a big part in Robinson’s success. His name was Wendell Smith. He was a longtime baseball writer for The Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most prominent Black newspapers in the country. Smith chronicled Robinson’s career going back to the Negro League. It was his articles in the Courier that grabbed Rickey’s attention as well as the nation’s.

Like Robinson, he also experienced racism. He wasn’t allowed to sit in the press box with the other sportswriters. He would sit in the stands to cover the games, holding his typewriter in his lap. Smith was the first African American to join the Baseball Writers Association of America. He’s also in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

There’s a lot everybody can learn from this film. Robinson had to endure a lot of racism. He needed a thick skin to survive during that time. He was a great baseball player, but a far better human being for what he had to go through.

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .