The long-awaited statue of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley was unveiled Wednesday near downtown Columbia. The statue, which is 14 feet tall, made of bronze and weighs nearly 2,000 pounds, depicts a smiling Staley on a ladder holding a basketball net, as if she’d just cut it down after winning a national championship.

Dawn Staley’s impact on South Carolina women’s basketball has earned her legendary status — but the Hall of Fame coach didn’t initially want a statue of herself. As the city of Columbia prepared to unveil Staley’s statue on Wednesday,