"I didn't like my father for that": Dawn Staley reflects on the road trip her father never let her take

South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley has been doing rounds of interviews for her first-ever book, "Uncommon Favor." On Thursday, she appeared on "The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM" to discuss various facets of her book.

In one instance, Staley was asked about her relationship with her father, Clarence, who the tenured tactician says that she discussed significantly in her book. One moment that she reflected on then was a moment in which she did not agree with a decision her father made.

"There's a story that I share in the book about my father, who I mean I'm over 50 now, right? But when he, I don't know if I was 12, 14 maybe, I got a chance to, I got invited to play on this team in this competition outside of Philly," Staley said. "It was a road trip and my father was like, 'No, you can't go.' That hurt me like it really hurt me." [9:36]

Staley then discussed what she realized with her father's decision that at that time, she admits she wasn't in favor of.

"And I remembered it so vividly that for him to deny me that because it was one of the first times. But I'm 13, 14 years old, whose parents going to let them, somebody else, take their child out of state? I wasn't thinking about that. I was solely thinking about basketball. But, it was one of the experiences that drove me," Dawn Staley said. [10:00]

"Like I didn't like my father for that. I didn't like him for the parental decision that he made," she added.

Staley is coming off the recent season having led South Carolina to an overall record of 35-4, 19-1 during SEC play this year in which they won both the conference regular season title and conference tournament championship.

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Dawn Staley reveals that the concept of conflict has helped her succeed

Also during her interview with The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM, Dawn Staley reflected on the decision her father had made in not allowing her to join the out-of-state camp. Staley then shared that she realized that conflicts such as those push her to do better in life.

"But, as I'm older now and reflecting on and writing the book, I need conflict," Staley said. "I know that about myself that I need conflict like everything can't be comfortable. If I have 10 people supporting me here, I need about 10 to 12 people that's hating. I need it. I mean it helps me. It drives me." [10:36]

Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks are heading into the 2025-26 season coming off of their failed 2024 national title defense in the 2024-25 campaign. On Apr. 6, the Gamecocks lost the 2024 NCAA national championship game to the UConn Huskies by 23 points, 82-59.