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Staley introduced as coach of US national women’s hoops team

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2000, file photo, United States' Dawn Staley (5) and Nikki McCray, right, celebrate the USA's victory over Australia in the women's gold medal basketball game at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Two people with knowledge of the decision say Dawn Staley will be the next U.S. women's basketball Olympic coach. They spoke to The Associated Press Thursday, March 9, 2017, on condition of anonymity because the decision hasn't been publicly announced. The 46-year-old Staley has coached South Carolina since 2008, guiding them to a four straight Southeastern Conference regular season titles and a three consecutive SEC Tournament crowns. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File) FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2000, file photo, United States' Dawn Staley (5) and Nikki McCray, right, celebrate the USA's victory over Australia in the women's gold medal basketball game at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Two people with knowledge of the decision say Dawn Staley will be the next U.S. women's basketball Olympic coach. They spoke to The Associated Press Thursday, March 9, 2017, on condition of anonymity because the decision hasn't been publicly announced. The 46-year-old Staley has coached South Carolina since 2008, guiding them to a four straight Southeastern Conference regular season titles and a three consecutive SEC Tournament crowns. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

By Associated Press March 10, 2017 1 min read

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley has been put in charge of keeping the U.S. women’s national basketball team rolling.

Staley was introduced as the team’s next head coach Friday at a news conference at South Carolina’s football stadium about give miles from campus. The Gamecocks coach won three gold medals playing point guard for the U.S. in 1996, 2000 and 2004. She was an assistant coach for the United States on gold-medal winning teams in 2008 and 2016, the last under UConn’s Geno Auriemma.

Now, it’s Staley’s turn to call the shots.

She’ll start next year when she leads the U.S. at the FIBA World Cup in Spain. Should the U.S. qualify as expected, Staley will try guide the Americans to a seventh consecutive gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.