Aliyah Boston emerges from shadow to build own legacy at South Carolina

COLUMBIA — Aliyah Boston didn't just have to contend with the shadow of a great player. She had an 11-foot tall likeness in front of her home arena.

Boston first arrived on campus at the University of South Carolina in 2019, just one year after the greatest player in program history, A'ja Wilson, had finished an NCAA career that transformed the school into a women's college basketball powerhouse. A three-time first-team All-American, Wilson was the hometown star who helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA title in 2017. A bronze statue of Wilson atop a granite base was erected outside the main entrance to Colonial Life Arena in January 2021 during Boston's sophomore year.

The lingering presence of a legend could have intimidated a lot of players, but not Boston.

«I don't think everybody could be in Aliyah's position and thrive like she's been thriving,» South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of her All-American senior.

Talk to Boston for a minute and it's clear there are no shadows in her world. She's a young woman of faith, joy and big dreams. She carved her own legacy with the Gamecocks, who are undefeated (36-0) and headed to the Final Four for the third consecutive year. South Carolina is going for its second consecutive NCAA title with one of the best defensive teams in women's college basketball history. Boston is in the middle of it, literally, as a 6-foot-5 post player who is both a one-on-one wall inside and the ultimate safety net as a help defender.

What are the odds of having two generational players at the same position come along so quickly, one after the other? Even for as great a recruiter and developer of talent as Staley is, it's a double jackpot.

The 6-foot-4 Wilson, 26, is a WNBA champion and