Why Dawn Staley wears beaded necklaces while coaching South Carolina Gamecocks

Dawn Staley is an all-time great.

Her legendary status isn't just about her coaching with South Carolina, or the impressive playing career that came before this. It's also about her heart, and there's no better example of that than the beaded necklaces she wears while on the sideline leading the Gamecocks.

Those necklaces will be on display with South Carolina at the Final Four.

And with that in mind, it's worth revisiting why she wears them.

Why does Dawn Staley wear beaded necklaces?

The necklaces are a gift to Staley from a young fan, Blakeleigh Thompson.

"Two of the necklaces that I wear are from one person, a young lady, and her name is Blakeleigh, who's going through cancer treatments," Staley said last year, via NCAA transcripts. "I mean, gives me a perspective of, yes, we're preparing for a second round game. She's probably preparing for a second surgery or 22nd treatment. So helps give me perspective. The other one is a young man that I met here at the children's hospital who suffers from sickle cell."

For Staley, it puts everything in perspective.

She knows that life is about more than just basketball.

"So I had a cousin that passed from sickle cell, so gives me perspective on what we're doing, where we are, and really for us, although we think it's our world, our passion, what we do, it really is just basketball," Staley said. "When you put it in perspective of what other people have to go through. Not just the young people that are stricken with those type of diseases. It breaks down an entire family. It changes your family. If I have siblings, every energy is going towards healing that sick sibling, that sick child. So I some empathy for what they go through. If it helps me to stay empathetic, I'm going to wear them."

Whether or not Staley wins a national championship this year, she's clearly a winner.

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