South Carolina’s Boston named top women’s basketball center in the country
South Carolina women’s basketball center Aliyah Boston drew plenty of strong comparisons during an accomplished freshman year.
Now the All-American has an award named after one of the greats of the sport: Lisa Leslie.
Boston was announced Monday as the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award on ESPN’s SportsCenter. The award is given out by the Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Association.
“Aliyah Boston is perhaps one of the most talented freshmen the women’s game has ever seen,” Leslie said in a statement. “With her combination of intelligence, athleticism and coachability, there is no limit to what this young woman can achieve. It was a pleasure to watch Aliyah and her South Carolina teammates under the direction of Hall of Famer Dawn Staley this season.”
Boston, a freshman, posted 12.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks a game this season. She opened her career with a triple-double and averaged 13.1 points and 10.3 boards in SEC play.
“Wow, winning this award means to much to me, especially since it is named after one of the best to ever play the game - Lisa Leslie,” Boston said in a statement. “I want to thank God because it would not have been possible without Him. And, I also want to thank my teammates and coaching staff for helping me to play in a way that is deserving of this award.”
Former Gamecock A’ja Wilson won the award in 2018. South Carolina finished the season with only one loss but were denied a chance in the NCAA tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Leslie was a Hall of Fame players whose long list of accolades includes multiple national player of the year awards, the All-American nods, three WNBA MVPs and four trips to the Olympics.
