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Aliyah Boston emerges from the shadows to build her own legacy in South Carolina


COLUMBIA — Aliyah Boston not only have to contend with the shadow of a great player. She is 11 feet tall in front of her yard.

Boston First Arrives On University Campus South Carolina in 2019, just one year after the greatest player in show history, A’ja Wilson, ended the NCAA career that turned the school into a women’s college basketball powerhouse. A three-time All-American first team player, Wilson is the hometown star who helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA title in 2017. A bronze statue of Wilson atop a granite pedestal has been erected outside. Colonial Life Arena’s main entrance in January 2021 during Boston’s sophomore year.

The lingering presence of a legend can frighten many players, but Boston does not.

“I don’t think people can be in Aliyah’s position and grow as she has grown,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of her All-American senior.

Talk to Boston for a minute and it’s clear that there are no shadows in her world. She is a young woman of faith, joy and big dreams. She’s carved her own legacy with the Gamecocks, the team undefeated (36-0) and reaching the Finals for the third year in a row. South Carolina will win its second straight NCAA title with one of the best defensive teams in college women’s basketball history. Boston is in the middle of it, literally, as a 6-foot-5 player, both a one-on-one inside wall and the ultimate safety net as a supporting defender.

What is the probability that two players of the same generation in the same position appear so quickly, one after the other? Even for a great recruiter and talent developer like Staley, it’s a double jackpot.

The 6-foot-4, 26-year-old Wilson is a WNBA champion and two-time MVP of the tournament with Las Vegas Ace, plus an Olympic gold medal. She’s the #1 pick and Rookie of the Year 2018. 6-5 Boston, 21, is expected to be the #1 pick for Indiana fever in April.

Wilson is a beloved hometown girl who grew up in Columbia and led the Gamecocks to their first national championship in 2017. Boston, a Virgin Islands native, used to play high school basketball. school in Worcester, Massachusetts, didn’t give much thought to pursuing Wilson’s footsteps until reporters started asking about it.

“I just think about coming here like, ‘This is where I can get better. This is where I can come to the WNBA and this is the coach I want,” Boston said. “I’ve also made a name for myself on this campus. A’ja is a great, talented player, but I want to come and be Aliyah.”

And Boston has a chance to do what not even Wilson can: win two NCAA championships and top the table.


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BOSTON AND WILSON have been the faucets for the Golden Age of Gamecocks: five Finals and two NCAA titles, with hopes of finishing third this year, in the last eight NCAA tournaments (South Carolina won ranked number 1 when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 NCAA tournament). It is natural to compare them.

Wilson, a left-hander, faced the basket slightly more than right-handed Boston, who used his strength near the basket excellently. But Wilson can also hit inwards – she still does in the WNBA – and Boston can make the occasional 3-pointer jumps and pointers.

“She’s really healthy,” said Maryland Topography coach Brenda Frese, whose team lost to Boston and the Gamecocks in the Elite Eight on Monday. “You can’t move her down the block when you’re trying to protect her. She has great hands. A really, really tough match.”

Wilson has been three times the SEC Player of the Year; Boston has won this honor twice. Both are defence elites; Boston was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for all four seasons, while Wilson won it twice.

Wilson averaged 17.3 points on 55% shots, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 saves in South Carolina. Boston is currently at 14.1 PPG, 10.8 PPG and 2.4 BPG, while hitting 54%. Wilson made six 3-pointers for the Gamecocks, Boston hit 31.

They also have their personal signatures. In South Carolina, Wilson was known for wearing pearls in memory of his grandmother. Boston is known for her multicolored braids, though all of them are now game-cock garnets. Both learned leadership and responsibility at a young age, accepting that many eyes were on them.

Boston is navigating Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities that Wilson could also cash in if NCAA rules don’t prevent that at the time. With so many possible distractions, Boston was focused on basketball and school work, and so did Wilson.

“It’s about having solid roots,” said Staley, with whom the Gamecocks could go on to become the 10th Division I women’s team undefeated. “Aliyah is very rooted in who she is. She has old fashioned views. Like her mother, she is really curious. Her father, he is calm, he is cool. She Get the best of both worlds from them.

“I don’t think she’s really worried about what people think of her. She always wants to make the best impression, but that’s what she thinks of herself. And if she doesn’t think she’s the best, then that’s the point. With that, she’s the one who gets hurt the most.”

“I’ve also made a name for myself on this campus. A’ja [Wilson] He’s a great, talented player, but I want to come and be Aliyah.”

Aliyah Boston

It took a long time to identify areas where Boston fell short. The Gamecocks lost 66-65 in the 2021 national semifinals, a game Boston was heartbroken when she missed a possible save at the siren. But she’s back to leading South Carolina to the 2022 championship. And even in the games this season when her stats aren’t great — her numbers are down slightly this season, with averages of 13.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG after 16.8 and 12.5 a year ago — that’s because her team is so deep and dominant she doesn’t need to play more than 26 minutes per game.

Staley said Boston’s willingness to never grumble about her own stats or game time for the greater good of the team reflects who she is.

“You could say you want to win,” Staley said. “But to do that, sometimes it challenges you and your selfishness. But she’s reached the pinnacle of women’s basketball. She’s not motivated by ‘I want to repeat the badminton title. national player of the year.’ She just wanted to win.

“She’s learned that it’s really not about the awards. It’s more about her maturity.”


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MEETING BOSTON Wilson for the first time. Wilson stopped by a practice session in South Carolina, and Boston, then a freshman, and the other young gamecocks were amazed.

“She killed it in [WNBA], so for her to come back, it’s still like a celebrity shock,” Boston said. “It was the first time, but she said, ‘Guys, don’t do that. Everything is great.’ Now, she’s like a real big sister. She could really say, ‘I know what you’re going through,’ and she did.”

Boston says she can talk to Wilson about anything. For her part, Wilson said she often waits for Boston to ask for advice, but she’s always willing to give encouragement.

“I remember my parents and Coach Staley letting me figure out a lot of things,” Wilson said. “They say, ‘When the time is right, you’ll know your voice and who you are, and you’ll stand by it.’ I think it’s the same with Aliyah.”

However, sometimes Wilson has the feeling that Boston needs to hear her opinion. Earlier this season, Boston guessed old and guessed. Things are going well with the team, but Boston isn’t sure she’s reached her full potential.

“I just thought, ‘I don’t think I’m really playing my kind of basketball, how do I get that?'” Boston said. “How do I find my way through? She held out her hand. She said, ‘Hey, what are you thinking, how do you feel about this, this and this?’ After talking to her, I thought, ‘What a relief.'”

Part of it is a technical tip: dealing with groups of three, understanding the value of patience. But there are also practical tips from perfectionist to perfectionist.

“Can turn the page,” Boston said. “She emphasized that whatever happens in the game, just being able to say, ‘OK, let’s move on to the next thing. Let’s move on.”

That’s something Wilson has continued to learn throughout his professional career. She was devastated by a Game 5 loss at home in the 2021 WNBA semifinals, but returned in 2022 to claim her second MVP award and lead the Aces to their first WNBA title.

Wilson was drafted by the Aces during their first season in Las Vegas in 2018 and became the face of the franchise. In the organization’s final three years in San Antonio, the team missed the knockout stages three years in a row. By 2020, the Aces had reached the WNBA Finals and were champions two years later.

If the 2023 draft goes as expected, Boston will join a mostly young Fever team that hasn’t made it to the knockouts since franchise legend Tamika Catchings retired in 2016.

“She was exactly what the Fever needed,” Staley said. “No matter what challenges Fever has faced in the past, there are things with Aliyah that they will never have to worry about. For example, coming up with an amazing example of what a professional looks like right now. even as a rookie. She will elevate even their most veteran player.”

There are things that Boston wants to add to her game on the next level. She had noticed that most WNBA players had a one-foot long shot that was difficult to block, and so Boston researched that. First, however, her goal is to lead the Gamefowl to repeat as national champion. As great as Wilson, she received an NCAA title in South Carolina. Boston can get two.

If that happens on Sunday, will there be another statue outside South Carolina’s arena soon? A strong supporter of his players, Staley was instrumental in obtaining the Wilson statue and raising some money for it. It should come as no surprise to see Boston immortalized in bronze at some point.

Boston laughed and looked confused at the question, as if it were unthinkable. But that could be another point where she and Wilson are alike, even though both have forged their own legends.

“We don’t even compare the two because they both leave legacies,” says Staley. “Both stand up for themselves for who they are.”

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