Everything Dawn Staley Said Recapping The First Two Days In Paris
- By Alan Cole
- The Insiders Forum
- 2 Replies
PARIS — Checking in from Paris -- largely thanks to all of y'all and our amazing subscribers -- where Dawn Staley spoke with a handful of media members in the lobby of the team hotel this afternoon. This press conference was not filmed or broadcasted, so here is some fresh info on the Gamecocks, the first two days in Paris and more.
Plenty more to come from me, but here is a flavor of things so far:
Staley on fighting jet lag:
"I think it was good for us the morning that we traveled and we got here and had a lot of stuff to do. I think that they handled it well. It's fun the new things that they're experiencing, so I really believe they're not even thinking about it. And they don't have much rest to think about anything but what's in front of them, so it's pretty cool to see them experiencing new things."
On practice today:
Great energy, great practice, great execution. We've got two more of those and we've got a couple more sites that we've got to see and I think we've scheduled it out pretty nicely where they get to experience something new and different, another country, the landmarks, have conversations that they probably would have never had if they didn't come to Paris.
On her favorite part so far:
I'd never been to the Louvre. I got a chance to see the Mona Lisa. Everyone that has seen it said it was really, really small, so I was thinking it was going to be really small. And I got there and I was like, 'oh.' I thought I was going to put my glasses on to see, but I didn't have to do that. So I think just the anticipation of actually going through the Louvre and hearing our tour guide just tell us about history. And actually she prolonged before we went in to see the Mona Lisa and I was just like, 'I've got to leave her behind. I did, I kind of went off and did my own thing and jockeyed into position to get pictures. I got some pretty cool pictures."
On what she told the team to do to take care of themselves on a trip like this:
"For me, we've got experts in the field. Molly Binetti does a great job of just knowing when to push and pull and knowing when we need to do some things outside the actual practice, and then Craig Oates our athletic trainer, they just work hand-and-hand knowing exactly what our team needs and when we need it. I just don't get involved in it. I'm glad I can just take my hat off and allow someone else to go into their bag with their expertise in this area."
On balancing the experience with the basketball game:
"I think we have to be ones that comparmentalize our lives. That's a normal student athlete, a normal professional athlete, those are the things you have to do. I like it to be where your mind is. If you are where your mind is, you're going to enjoy life a lot better. If your mind is somewhere else, you should just really leave and go to where your mind is because it will benefit you. It's not going to do you any good if your mind is at the Kith Party tonight, that's not going to do you any good.
But everyone was locked in and ready. I was eager to see how everyone would handle practice. They didn't approach it like they were just putting on an old shoe, they were really energized and ready to rock and roll and got some quality work in. We weren't there the entire two hours as far as locking in and doing what we needed to do. It's a build-up, so we'll have two more days to practice and get ready. But they looked pretty sharp today."
Plenty more to come from me, but here is a flavor of things so far:
Staley on fighting jet lag:
"I think it was good for us the morning that we traveled and we got here and had a lot of stuff to do. I think that they handled it well. It's fun the new things that they're experiencing, so I really believe they're not even thinking about it. And they don't have much rest to think about anything but what's in front of them, so it's pretty cool to see them experiencing new things."
On practice today:
Great energy, great practice, great execution. We've got two more of those and we've got a couple more sites that we've got to see and I think we've scheduled it out pretty nicely where they get to experience something new and different, another country, the landmarks, have conversations that they probably would have never had if they didn't come to Paris.
On her favorite part so far:
I'd never been to the Louvre. I got a chance to see the Mona Lisa. Everyone that has seen it said it was really, really small, so I was thinking it was going to be really small. And I got there and I was like, 'oh.' I thought I was going to put my glasses on to see, but I didn't have to do that. So I think just the anticipation of actually going through the Louvre and hearing our tour guide just tell us about history. And actually she prolonged before we went in to see the Mona Lisa and I was just like, 'I've got to leave her behind. I did, I kind of went off and did my own thing and jockeyed into position to get pictures. I got some pretty cool pictures."
On what she told the team to do to take care of themselves on a trip like this:
"For me, we've got experts in the field. Molly Binetti does a great job of just knowing when to push and pull and knowing when we need to do some things outside the actual practice, and then Craig Oates our athletic trainer, they just work hand-and-hand knowing exactly what our team needs and when we need it. I just don't get involved in it. I'm glad I can just take my hat off and allow someone else to go into their bag with their expertise in this area."
On balancing the experience with the basketball game:
"I think we have to be ones that comparmentalize our lives. That's a normal student athlete, a normal professional athlete, those are the things you have to do. I like it to be where your mind is. If you are where your mind is, you're going to enjoy life a lot better. If your mind is somewhere else, you should just really leave and go to where your mind is because it will benefit you. It's not going to do you any good if your mind is at the Kith Party tonight, that's not going to do you any good.
But everyone was locked in and ready. I was eager to see how everyone would handle practice. They didn't approach it like they were just putting on an old shoe, they were really energized and ready to rock and roll and got some quality work in. We weren't there the entire two hours as far as locking in and doing what we needed to do. It's a build-up, so we'll have two more days to practice and get ready. But they looked pretty sharp today."