Dawn Staley covered the dinner tab for the Norfolk State women’s basketball team during last year’s NCAA tournament, said head coach Larry Vickers.
Speaking last week at MEAC basketball media day, Vickers revealed that the South Carolina coach made sure the program picked up $5,000 bill the team accumulated at Ruth’s Chris Steak House the night before the teams played each other in the NCAA first round.
“My team ran it up,” Vickers said. “We might’ve spent about five grand.”
Staley was not only generous with her wallet but also her words. The national championship coach said that Norfolk State were “not a 16 seed” and complimented the team’s effort.
She also visited Norfolk State’s locker room after the game to acknowledge forward Kierra Wheeler for her performance.
“I didn’t understand the magnitude and the energy around her before I really personally met her,” Vickers said. “Then you’re like, ‘Oh, OK, I see why you’re the figurehead for women’s basketball.’ She does an excellent job, makes everybody feel loved and comfortable. They took us to Ruth’s Chris. South Carolina paid for our meal the night before.”
Vickers said a lot of the players on his roster hadn’t eaten at Ruth’s Chris, a luxury steakhouse chain.
“A lot of them had never been, and I didn’t look at their pre-orders,” Vickers said. “So, you know, they were ordering entrees and two sides not realizing that the sides are shareables. So the table had no room. The table had no room at all. But we figured it out.”
