‘Give Them the Real’: Why Dawn Staley ‘Spoiled’ Local South Carolina Reporters

David Cloninger’s career covering South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball began 16 seasons ago, the same year Dawn Staley became the team’s head coach. During that first 10-win season, Cloninger was one of just a few reporters on press row, in a gym so quiet that he could hear Staley calling plays from the bench. Now with Charleston’s The Post and Courier after cycling through different outlets, he’s seen the team blossom into a dynasty and Staley become a true celebrity coach. And while Staley has evolved as a coach in that time, he says, the one thing that hasn’t changed...