Why Kymora Johnson turned down Dawn Staley to stay home at Virginia

Kymora Johnson was dreading the phone call she knew she had to make.

After entering the transfer portal and visiting South Carolina, the three-time All-ACC point guard had decided she was going to stay at Virginia for her senior season and play for newly-hired head coach Aaron Roussell. As she exited John Paul Jones Arena after delivering the news to Roussell, Johnson knew the next thing she had to do was call Dawn Staley — not only a three-time national title winning coach for the Gamecocks, but the greatest player Virginia women's basketball history.

Five minutes after leaving her meeting with Roussell, Johnson’s phone rang.

“You know Mo, we really want you here,” Johnson recalls Staley saying. “But I think you should stay at Virginia, and I think you know that.”

A weight was lifted off Johnson’s shoulders. She would remain in her hometown and finish her college career with Virginia without disappointing Staley. The Cavaliers' season begins in two months, on Nov. 2, against Maryland Eastern Shore.

“That really made me feel some type of way,” Johnson told USA TODAY Sports. “Because it's Dawn Staley telling me that she wants me to stay at the school that I'm trying…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/