A'ja Wilson: “Name a cooler coach than Dawn Staley…. I’ll wait”: College hoops fans abuzz as South Carolina HC poses in A’ja Wilson’s unreleased signature shoes

As usual, Dawn Staley is stepping out in style. On Wednesday, Nice Kicks shared an Instagram post of the South Carolina head coach wearing an unreleased colorway of former Gamecocks star A'ja Wilson's signature shoe.

On Tuesday, Wilson's Nike signature shoe, the A'Ones, was released in the "Pink A'ura" colorway. Other colors, such as the "Indigo Girl" Staley sported in the Instagram post, have yet to be released.

College hoops fans reacted to Staley's cool kicks. Some hyped the coach up for her sense of style.

"Name a cooler coach than Dawn ... I'll wait," one wrote.

"Coach Drip does it again!!!" Another fan wrote.

"She cold," another fan wrote.

One fan joked that Staley is "flexing" by wearing the unreleased colorway.

"She pulled up in the blue colorway when she easily could have worn the pink and it would have been just fine. Professional flexer," the fan wrote.

A fan calls Staley a "professional flexer."

Others pointed out another part of Staley's iconic outfit: her Louis Vuitton overalls.

"She also did that with the overalls," one wrote.

"LV overalls is tuff," another wrote.

An IG user calls Staley's overalls "tuff"

"Shoes cool but the LV OVERALLS R🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥," one fan wrote.

A fan hypes up Staley for her Louis Vuitton overalls

Dawn Staley & A'ja Wilson's relationship

Wilson stopped playing under Staley over half a decade ago, yet the two remain very close. This isn't even the first time Wilson has sent her former coach an unreleased pair of A'Ones.

In February, Staley flexed a pair of "Pink A'ura" A'Ones on her Instagram. Wilson gifted her one of the first pairs of her signature shoes.

"Let us all “A” for the A’ONEs! @aja22wilson," Staley captioned her Instagram post.

The "Pink A'uras" officially dropped on Tuesday and sold out in under five minutes, but Staley has the iconic sneaker in several colors due to her bond with Wilson.

Wilson played at South Carolina from 2014-17, winning a national title in her senior season. Staley helped guide the center to a college career with many accolades. In her time with the Gamecocks, Wilson was a three-time First-Team All-American and was the consensus National Player of the Year in 2017. She holds program records in points, blocked shots, blocked shot average, free throws made, and free throws attempted.

NCAA Women's Basketball: Women's Final Four- Mississippi State vs. South Carolina - Source: Imagn

Wilson is now one of the top players in the WNBA. She was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 WNBA draft and has been named Rookie of the Year, a three-time MVP and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Staley continues to support the former Gamecock in her professional basketball journey. On Tuesday, she attended a WNBA preseason game between Wilson's Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury. ESPNW shared a hilarious clip of Staley peeking in on the Aces' huddle.

Staley flexing Wilson's unreleased A'One is just one of her ways of supporting her former player.

About the author

Lindsey Ware is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over five years of experience working with publications such as The News & Observer, The Daily Tar Heel, Triangle Tribune and Cardiac Cane. She has also worked for Major League Baseball, The Holly Springs Salamanders, The Tri-City Chili Peppers, Tuffy Talk, Super Meteors Basketball, Just Good Network and Living Sport.

Lindsey has a Bachelor’s Degree in Media and Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill. Her education allowed Lindsey to gain experience in sports communication, which she honed in internships. Other than being a storyteller and sports fanatic, Lindsey is also a social media and marketing specialist.

Her favorite college team is UNC, although she grew up a N.C. State fan as both of her parents are Wolfpack alumni. Michael Jordan was a huge deal in North Carolina when Lindsey was growing up, and after a summer spent at UNC’s Sports Journalism Camp back in high school, Lindsey was set on being a Tar Heel.

Lindsey's favorite college coach of all time is Roy Williams. During her time attending UNC Chapel Hill and writing for The Daily Tar Heel, Lindsey was lucky enough to meet and speak with Williams a few times. He was like a celebrity on UNC’s campus and was beloved for his coaching style and success with the Tar Heels, accumulating three NCAA championship titles in 18 years.

When not watching or writing about sports, Lindsey enjoys reading, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, and spending time with my friends, family and dog. She also likes to journal, watch movies and paint.

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Edited by Abhimanyu Gupta