From playing under Dawn Staley at the University of South Carolina to leading a Division 1 program of her own, Olivia Gaines is ready to soar as the new head women's basketball coach at North Carolina Central University.
Gaines most recently led Allen University in Columbia, S.C., where she guided the program to back-to-back winning seasons at the Division II level.
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She takes over a NCCU program that finished last season 9–20 overall and 5–9 in the MEAC play, continuing a rebuilding stretch in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
"First off, you have to build relationships with your student athletes," Gaines said. "You can't skip out on that part. I tell people all the time, still to this day I can call my JuCo (junior college) coach, I can call Coach Staley, and they are right there in my corner."
The foundation of Gaines' coaching philosophy was shaped during her time under Staley at South Carolina, one of the most successful programs in women’s college basketball. Now, she looks to bring those same standards and expectations to Durham.
"If it's all about the money for the kid, we're probably not the school for them," Gaines said. "I'm going to aim to get kids who actually want to be here at Central."