How does Aliyah Boston compare so far to Wilson, Coates? Here’s what Dawn Staley says
As South Carolina women’s basketball upset then-No. 4 Maryland on the road last Sunday, led by another stellar performance from freshman Aliyah Boston, a Twitter user jokingly asked Gamecock great A’ja Wilson whether there was room for another statue next to the one planned for her outside Colonial Life Arena.
The hype around Boston has exploded over the past few weeks, as she recorded a triple-double in her first career game, tallied 14 points and five blocks against Maryland and earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Three games into her college career, Boston has 37 points on 14-of-24 shooting, 21 rebounds, 16 blocks, four steals and two assists.
By comparison, three games into her freshman year, Wilson had 37 points on 13-of-24 shooting, 19 rebounds, three blocks, four steals and four assists. Fellow Gamecock post great Alaina Coates had 43 points on 18-of-30 shooting, 31 rebounds, five blocks, one steal and one assist.
But beyond the stats, there’s something more that stands out to coach Dawn Staley, something that puts her beyond the same level as Wilson and Coates.
“I know A’ja and probably Alaina, they’re probably gonna shoot me mean texts after I say this, but she’s ahead of them,” Staley said. “ Here’s why. The communication piece, A’ja and Alaina has older players that they took the backseat to. Aliyah’s just being a leader, and she just calling what she sees, and that’s where she gets the nod when it when it comes to, you know where I compare them.
“I’m not even really comparing the physical and what she does, as far as the tangibles. The intangible is the thing that comes much further along in someone’s career, and she’s got it, she’s got it in her first year.”
Staley said she noticed when she was recruiting Boston that her basketball IQ was already at a high level — their conversations were always a little more advanced. What surprised her was how Boston translated that knowledge onto the court and to the benefit of her teammates.
“She’s talking on every single pass, not play. Every pass she is saying something to somebody, and I just hope it just continues to be contagious with everybody else, because the thing that has helped our team gel a little bit more has been their ability to communicate, and she’s been pretty much the ringleader when it comes to communicating out there on the floor,” Staley said.
Boston has also turned heads with her ferocious shot-blocking ability — she has the second most in the country at the moment, and even Staley admitted after the Maryland game that she didn’t expect Boston to be this good at rejecting shots.
And while some might point to Boston’s 6-foot-5 frame as the reason for her shot-blocking prowess, Staley said there’s another skill at play.
“An elite shot-blocker is one that really has an understanding of what other teams are running. That’s number one. I think she has a real sense of the game and she has real great recollection of what she’s heard in scouting reports and preparation, and she’s able to execute it in games.” Staley said. “Because being a shot-blocker isn’t just being at the right place at the right time. It’s knowing that you’re in the right place at the right rime and not really guessing.”
Boston’s own explanation for her shot-blocking is a technical one as well.
“For most of the blocks, I was just in help-side, so it was just where I was supposed to be dropping over when I needed to, and I think it worked great because then we were able to get out in transition and get easy baskets,” she said after the Maryland win.
Both with her communication and her shot-blocking, Boston has already become a difference-maker for South Carolina in the eyes of Maryland coach Brenda Frese. While her blocks total has gone down each game, Frese said her presence alone made an impact on the Terrapins’ shooting.
That impact continued against Dayton — Boston had just one blocked shot, but the Flyers barely even tried to challenge her, scoring just six points in the paint and going 2-for-8 on layups.
“She just impacted so many shots when we got into the paint. It was real, it was an area that we knew we needed to be aggressive and shot fake her and try to make plays, but she was, you know, the anchor defensively that they needed and I think probably got in our heads. Even with a lot of the missed layups that we had in this game, I thought she was a big reason for it,” Frese said.
Sunday’s matchup with Appalachian State will provide Boston with another big challenge — 6-foot-4 senior center Bayley Plummer was sixth nationally last year with 12.9 rebounds per game and pulled down 23 boards against Elon this past Wednesday.
“We’re not going to approach it any differently than what she saw against Maryland,” Staley said. “Maryland was big and seasoned. I think they’ll collapse on us a little bit because of what Aliyah brings to the table, or just our ability to be athletic and get downhill.”
NEXT
Who: No. 6 South Carolina (3-0) vs. Appalachian State (0-2)
When: 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 17
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
