Deion Sanders to Dawn Staley: 'You are our shero'

The South Carolina Gamecocks capped off an undefeated season by winning a national championship on Sunday. It was an incredible season and with it, head coach Dawn Staley is earning plenty of praise.

Among those offering praise to Dawn Staley is Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. He took to Twitter/X where he praised her, going so far as to call Staley a ‘shero.’

“God Bless Coach @dawnstaley,” Deion Sanders posted. “You are our SHERO!!!! Love ya 2 Life sis.”

This was Dawn Staley’s 16th season at South Carolina. During that time, she has won three national championships and has a 440-106 record. In particular, during recent seasons, the program has exploded under Staley, with two national championships in the last three seasons and four straight appearances in the Final Four.

Prior to coming to South Carolina, Dawn Staley was the head coach at Temple and played in the WNBA for the Charlotte Sting and the Houston Comets. That came after she had a very successful college career at Virginia.

Deion Sanders is far from the only major figure to congratulate Dawn Staley on her national championship. From actors like Samuel L. Jackson and musicians like Darius Rucker to NBA legends like LeBron James, plenty of people have made sure to congratulate Staley on her success.

“Protect Dawn Staley AT ALL COST!! No if, ands or buts!” James posted on Sunday.

Dawn Staley is certainly going to take the time to enjoy this win. However, she does want to get back to this point again and is looking to put a phenomenal team on the court again next season. Replicating that type of season is almost impossible, but the Gamecocks are going to be one of the favorites heading into next year and Dawn Staley knows that to do that, she won’t be able to sit back and rest on her laurels for too long.

Dawn Staley breaks down emotions surrounding national championship victory

Following the national championship win, Dawn Staley broke down her emotions and what was going through her mind.

“Well it was emotional for me because of how it ended last year, I’ll leave that there,” Staley said.

“And I was emotional at the beginning of the game because I didn’t want what happened last year to happen this year. So I was handling things in real-time, not afterwards.”

In the end, South Carolina beat Iowa in the national championship game 87-75. That capped off a perfect season for the Gamecocks, going 39-0, and winning the SEC along the way to their national championship.