"Dream merchant" Dawn Staley opens up about choosing coaching as a career

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley missed out on her fourth national championship when the Gamecocks were beaten by the UConn Huskies in the title game in April. During this off-season, Staley has hit the recruitment trail hard while trying to shore up her roster ahead of next season.

Staley released her memoir "Uncommon Favor" on Tuesday and while doing her promotional tour on "The View," she spoke about choosing coaching as a career and what she hopes to achieve in her role (3:05).

"What I love most about coaching is being a dream merchant for my players," Dawn Staley said. "Basketball has given me an incredible life, and I want my players to feel that — to experience this life. It’s an incredible feeling to lead young people to where they want to go.

"It’s hard now, but my whole objective is to help them get to know themselves at a much earlier age. Because for me, I’m over 50 — life clears up. But if life can clear up for them in their 20s or 30s, they’ll never be taken advantage of, and they’ll always get what they need."

Dawn Staley gets statue at South Carolina

Dawn Staley was appointed the coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2008 and elevated them to an elite side, leading them to nine Southeastern Conference titles and three national titles. In April, South Carolina revealed that Staley would get a statue built for her.

During Tuesday's segment of "Good Morning America," Staley spoke about the honor of getting a statue erected for her by the Gamecocks.

"It's unimaginable," Dawn Staley said. "I had goals of being an Olympian. I had goals of being a national champion. I didn't ever have a goal of having a statue. But now other little girls can grow up and say, 'I want a statue. That's a goal of mine. To have a statue.'"

Staley getting a statue in Columbia was praised by South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer who recognized the impact that the coach had on the school.

"Our situation is different because of coach Staley," Beamer said. "Not every football coach shares a campus with a women's basketball coach that has a statue of her, and she's still coaching. It's not like she's dead and been retired for 30 years. You realize the impact she has on our university and our community, and we're extremely close."

ESPN ranked Dawn Staley's South Carolina as the No. 1 team in the country ahead of next season as she attempts to win her fourth national championship as coach of the Gamecocks.