South Carolina Women’s Basketball: A’Ja Wilson and Dawn Staley talk about Wilson’s T -shirt – on3.com

On Sunday, the statue will hang in its ribs. South Carolina will officially retire A’Ja Wilson’s T -shirt before the match against Auburn.

“It’s a lot of emotion,” Wilson said on Saturday. “It’s a lot of fun. I go to reflection, going here and training this morning, like, Dang, I have some great memories here. We had a very great time here. “

“It’s about giving people our flowers,” said Dawn Staley. “This weekend, there is no one more in service than A’JA. It legitimizes our program, it brings it to another level and we still feel its heritage today. “

Wilson’s number 22 jersey has been unofficially retired since 2018, when Wilson ended her eligibility. Sanya Rivers confirmed so much when she explained that she had wore number 44 in her lonely season in South Carolina (2021-22) because they did not distribute the number 22.

“Never,” Staley said. “It’s retired. I can confirm this. “

The statue of Wilson was officially revealed on January 18, 2021. It was still during the Covid-19 pandemic, so the presence of the ceremony was limited to a handful of friends, family members and dignitaries.

This time, Wilson will celebrate with 18,000 of his closest families. The game was sold out before the start of the season.

“It’s huge. This is a big, big moment, “Wilson said. “I’m super blessed only to be able to say that my T -shirt is in my ribs, in my home. Not many people can say this. Just to make everyone go out and just enjoy the moment and I can share the moment with everyone, it will be really really special. So I’m excited. “

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Wilson attended South Carolina’s practice on Saturday morning and developed with current players. Once the practice is over, she spent about 30 minutes talking to players and answering their questions.

“That’s how we overcome the gap,” Wilson said. “The very fact that you are part of this program is already a professional. You are a professional, whether in life or on the court. Sometimes, when you hear it a lot of your coaches, it’s something that goes into one ear and the other because (you are) a player. But when you can hear it from someone who has experienced it, he experiences through him, he puts a completely different perspective on him. I am so grateful that I can be here and share a little knowledge. I really opened it to ask questions. “

Wilson already has the statue, something that was launched at the end of his senior season. South Carolina has no requirements for the statue, but the Athletics Department codes the requirements to retire in Jersey.

The player must be a graduate or in a good academic position and meet at least one of the following requirements: the university record holder, consensus Almamesan, national player of the year, Olympic medalist while in South Carolina, or to make the first or second team All- SEC at least three times.

Most importantly, there is a five-year waiting period, which begins at the end of the last season of the athlete’s College.

“The old age of the statue now,” Staley jokes. “There are so many eyes that were on the statue that it was almost a prelude today. If we could not withdraw from her T -shirt (then), what better way to expose the statue in front. “

Wilson meets these requirements many times. She is South Carolina’s leading goal scorer of all time, a leader in blocked shots and a leader in free throws, made and experience of experience. Wilson swept all the National Player of the Year awards in 2018 and was a three-time All-American from the first team, plus a third team as a freshman. She has been the first All-SEC team in all four years and is the only player to ever win the player of the year SEC three times.

Wilson did not win the Olympic medal while she was in South Carolina, but she won two since then, and earlier this week she was declared a female athlete of the year of US basketball.

Wilson’s five -year waiting period was actually last season. But as a number of greats would become admissible soon, it was decided to start with Tiffany Mitchell, “first -born” at the dawn Staley.

Jersey from Mitchell was retired on November 12, 2023, before opening the home of the season against Maryland.

Wilson and Mitchell join Sheila Foster (53), Shannon Johnson (14) and Martha Parker (13) (their number is retired. South Carolina moved to retired T -shirts instead of numbers) as retired south Carolina T -shirts.

Although number 22 is still technically available, it is difficult to imagine that Gamecocks ever returned it to circulation. This means that Wilson was the last of seven players to wear numbers.

It will not be long until no more T -shirts are raised. Zia Cooke also meets the requirements, but number 4 of Aliyah Boston is given. It became admissible in 2028, and Staley is confident that there will be a ceremony this season.

“Aliya,” Staley said. “We may need to get a statue there, we may need to play chess with the statues.”

Current players Joyce Edwards, Milalisa Fulvilly, Tessa Johnson and others may also be eligible someday.