Was Staley appearance a harbinger of return to UVa.?

The pregame tribute to Dawn Staley wasn't something that the University of Virginia women's basketball legend didn't expect.
"Any time I come back on the Grounds here at Virginia, the fans are always pouring out the love and the applause - and certainly I didn't think it was going to be any different. We've had some great memories here at Virginia - and no fan that has ever been a part of Virginia history will ever let those days go by without recognizing them," said Staley, a two-time national player of the year at UVa., who brought her Temple team to Charlottesville on Nov. 29 for her second career game against her former mentor, Debbie Ryan.
The Cavs won the game, 71-65 - but it is not out of the realm of possibility that Staley will yet coach a winner in the new John Paul Jones Arena, which is located across the street from her old stomping grounds at University Hall.
The talk is hot and heavy that the 2006-2007 season could be Ryan's last at the helm at Virginia - and that Staley, who recently retired from professional basketball after a stellar 10-year career, is in line to be her replacement.
Staley didn't address those rumors in her postgame interview with "ACC Nation" - but Kansas City Star and ESPN.com basketball writer Mechelle Voepel doesn't view the reports as being all that farfetched.
"I've got to be honest with you - I'd love to see Dawn at Virginia," Voepel told "ACC Nation" last week. "She's one of the all-time wonderful people to come out of ACC sports. Obviously it's her alma mater.
"I don't want to talk about Debbie Ryan retiring until she's ready to do it - but I hope that if that happens, then Dawn Staley's at the top of their list," Voepel said.
Staley's focus for now is on Temple - which is 4-4 in 2006-2007 after a 77-66 loss to top-ranked Maryland on Sunday. The Owls went 24-8 last season and entered the current campaign as the three-time defending Atlantic 10 champs.
They play a style of basketball that reminds those who watch them of their coach - a fiery point guard who was always on the go.
"I approach basketball the same way whether I'm playing or coaching. There's a certain way that you need to respect the game. You have to practice in a certain way, you have to think about it a certain way. You have to study it. And you have to love it - you have to be very passionate about it," Staley told "ACC Nation."
"I know one way to do things - and that's just to work hard. And if you do that, it'll put you on the right path. If you're on the wrong path, it'll give you some discipline and understanding at the same time," Staley said.
Staley later addressed one other set of rumors - regarding a possible return to playing basketball in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics. She ruled out any chance of that happening - saying that her attention is squarely on coaching at this point in her life.
"It's a game that I grew up playing - so it was a natural fit for me to move into coaching, since I had been playing point guard for some time. As a coach, you're playing it from a different angle," Staley said.
Not that being a former national player of the year who led her college team to three Final Fours and her national team to three gold medals is that far back in the rearview.
"I think it gives me instant credibility in recruiting. It gives me something tangible and our players something tangible to look and see and feel and know that I'm not asking them to do anything that I haven't done. And it gives me a character to be able to go in front of them and say, You work hard at this game, you do what we're asking you to do as a staff, and a lot of good things will come your way," Staley said.
- Chris Graham