Dawn Staley: South Carolina hosting first WNBA exhibition on a college campus 'what our sport needs'

COLUMBIA — Less than 24 hours before the Las Vegas Aces play a preseason game at Colonial Life Arena, A'ja Wilson sat between her college coach Dawn Staley and her WNBA coach Becky Hammon.

They agreed on a number of things but the message that was continuously echoed Friday was about continuing to grow the game of women's basketball.

A huge part of that is financial investments in women's basketball, and Saturday's game is the first of its kind when it comes to a WNBA preseason game on a college campus. It's specific to Wilson this weekend playing on her college court, but the coaches emphasized it doesn't have to stop this year.

"It should happen more often, you just have to get the financial backing," Staley said, explaining that if the Aces want to play at another school, it shouldn't be a financial burden. "If we want to grow the game, somebody should find the funding because it's beautiful, the turnout is going to be great, the talent, the coaching, the atmosphere will be great and it's what our sport needs."

Hammon and Staley played in the WNBA but grew up watching the NBA, with few female basketball players on TV. Staley said especially now, with the women's professional league, there still needs to be a continuous push.

"It's a great start but we need to insert some more innovative ideas to push the needle forward," Staley said. "We have the first millionaire coach, let's have the first millionaire player."

Wilson, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, is entering Year 7 in the WNBA. Hammon was hired as coach of the Aces in 2021 after serving as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs. The Aces have won the past two WNBA Finals, and on Thursday, they visited the White House in honor of their 2023 championship.

"It's about literally putting your money where your mouth is," Wilson said. "Yes, it looks great on social media but what are we doing behind the scenes to make sure we continue to invest in women's sports in general? . . . At the end of the day, this isn't a fad, this isn't a trend . . . we have to invest in these women to push the needle forward."

Wilson gave a shoutout to Gatorade, which signed her to a multiyear contract Wednesday, when speaking about large companies that can have a major influence when signing deals or making investments in women's teams or players.

"Those people who have a seat at the table, speak up," Wilson said. "Be the voice to the voiceless, use your platform in that way because not a lot of us have that seat, so if you are in that seat, use your platform to uplift others."

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Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin