The great Dawn Staley has been the coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team since 2008. One of the greatest players that she ever coached, or played the game in general, is A’ja Wilson. Wilson joined the Gamecocks in 2014, but she met Staley for the first time years before that.
In an article for The Players’ Tribune in 2018, Wilson recalled meeting Staley when she was just 13 years old. At the time, she had no interest in playing basketball. Wilson said that as a teenager, she wanted to do things teenagers usually do instead of committing to an athlete’s routine.
“I didn’t think it was such a big deal, meeting the head coach of the South Carolina women’s basketball team. I wasn’t very into basketball back then. I had other stuff on my mind,” Wilson wrote.
“I thought camp was stupid. Basketball was my dad’s thing,” she added.
Wilson’s father, a professional basketball player who played in foreign leagues, wanted her to attend a one-day camp. As per her it wasn’t an exclusive camp for a limited number of players. There were thousands of kids running around.
“I didn’t stand out,” Wilson wrote. “It’s funny to think about how awkward I was. I didn’t really perform better than anyone at the camp at all as far as I can remember. I might’ve been the tallest girl there, but that’s all. I wasn’t a natural with the ball.”
After what she considered a mediocre outing, A’ja Wilson stood in line to get her certificate and be congratulated by Staley. That’s when she first met Staley and shook her hand. Despite her personal opinion on her game, Staley saw something that Wilson or anyone around her didn’t.
“For whatever reason she came up to me and specifically asked me my name. She shook my hand, handed me a certificate and looked me right in the eyes. ‘Uh, I’m A’ja,’ I said to her. I still remember what she said: ‘I’m going to have to remember that.’ It gives me chills to think about today.”
And although things didn’t change immediately, A’ja Wilson eventually fell in love with the sport, on her terms. Years later, she committed to Dawn Staley’s program at South Carolina.
A’ja Wilson recently set a new WNBA double-double record
A’ja Wilson is arguably one of the greatest players of all time. As stacked as her resume is, the true magic of Wilson’s game is experienced when she’s on the floor. Recently, during a game against the Connecticut Sun, she showed another example of it.
In a game that the Aces won 94-86, Wilson did something that hadn’t been done before in the win. She dropped 32 points with 20 rebounds and five assists. With that, she became the first player in league history with a 30-20 double-double.
It was her second career game with 20 rebounds, 30th career 30-point game, and 14th double-double of the season. After the game, when she was informed about her new record, Wilson couldn’t believe she was the first one to do so.
“I didn’t even know, as many greats as we have in this league, it’s kind of a shocker that it’s just now happening. It’s a blessing. I love what I do. I love what I do.”
More than the personal accomplishment or the major milestone, A’ja Wilson was happy about getting to play the game she loves, in her own way, and surrounded by her teammates in a winning cause.
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