Fans lined up for hours to meet legendary basketball coach Dawn Staley at Mitchell & Ness

Before Dawn Staley arrived at Mitchell & Ness on Tuesday, the line to meet her stretched well outside the doors on Walnut Street.

Fans traveled from as far as Dallas, in some cases taking off work, to line up early to meet Staley, who was signing jerseys at the store from noon to 2 p.m. Staley was in town to sign Mitchell & Ness’ new Staley Swingman Team USA jersey, in honor of Staley’s time playing on the U.S. women’s basketball team from 1989 to 2004, in which she won three Olympic gold medals.

The North Philadelphia native who starred for Dobbins Tech is at the forefront of a historic time for women’s basketball, as college and WNBA games see record attendance and TV ratings. Her impact extends far beyond South Carolina, where she has coached since 2008. Temple women’s basketball coach Diane Richardson, who counts Staley among her mentors, brought her team to the store to be the first to meet with Staley.

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“It’s great because not only is she spearheading it, she’s bringing others along, and I, for one, as one that she’s mentored and helped,” Richardson said. “It’s also bringing us all along, and everybody’s taking advantage of it and everybody’s feeling the excitement of women’s basketball. … The thing about Dawn is she takes time to acknowledge people. One of our players used to play against her, and she remembered her. That’s going to go a long, long way, and it’s going a long way for our players. We have two freshmen here that were just in awe. Dawn inspires those young players.”

Staley coached at Temple from 2000 to 2008 before leaving to take the job at South Carolina, where she has won three national championships, including this season’s. Even though she’s no longer coaching in Philadelphia, Staley has shown love to the city. She’s a frequent presence at Sixers and Phillies playoff games and wears Eagles gear while on the sidelines coaching.

The first people in line had waited since 9 a.m. for the opportunity to meet Staley. Andrew Daves called out from work to get his father a signed basketball for Father’s Day. The two have watched Staley together “forever.” Daves said he played point guard growing up and always looked up to Staley and tried to emulate her playing style.

“She’s won and been excellent throughout her tenure,” Daves said. “I can’t think of another Philadelphia athlete that’s proven themselves the way she has. This is bigger than women’s basketball, this is huge for basketball, period.”

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Some of the fans followed Staley to South Carolina. Six-year-old Eli Williford-McDuffie came to get “the best coach in the world” to sign his kindergarten graduation book, Oh The Places You’ll Go. His mother, Dot Trip, played for Staley in a summer league in the late 1990s, and she and Williford-McDuffie watch every South Carolina game.

Another, Jen Leary, hosted a watch party for the 2024 national championship game between Staley’s Gamecocks and Iowa, and said more than 100 people showed up — almost all rooting for Staley. Now, she hosts monthly watch parties for WNBA games.

“She embodies everything that is great about this city,” Leary said. “Her work ethic, her grit, her moral compass, she’s a hustler, and you can see by the line here just how much Philadelphians, they respect her. She just exudes a winning personality, and you want to root for her.”

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The event honored Staley’s time as a player with Team USA through the jersey, which quickly sold out, but Jarita Grant finds inspiration through Staley as a coach as well.

“I watch how she cares about her team,” said Grant, who coaches sixth grade girls’ basketball in Moorestown. “You can put a bunch of athletes on a team, that’s the easy part, but being able to meet them at their point of need, being able to build these people into women, into good members of society — what she stands for, to me, is what stands out. In turn, these players, they come, they want to work for her, they want to work with her, and that is what I look for in being a coach. I don’t care about producing the best, but I think when you lay those foundations and fundamentals down and your character, that matters. I try to teach my kids the same thing. Work hard. It’s not always easy, but you’ll get there, and winning is a perspective.”