SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Post Aliyah Boston had a long road to South Carolina. A native of the Virgin Islands, she moved to Massachusetts to further her basketball career, and then to Columbia. Not to mention she's in to Bangkok, Thailand right now for the 2019 FIBA Women's U19 World Cup.
In this Q&A, Boston talks about her path to South Carolina and her expectations for the next four years.
Q: How would you compare your game to A’ja Wilson’s?
A: A’ja is very versatile and I believe that I’m stronger inside the post. A’ja is as well, but when she gets to the top of the key she’ll take you off the dribble. I have that right now, but I’m still trying to get better.
Q: Is the goal to win a national championship?
A: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Q: Have you guys talked about that?
A: It has come up in conversation, yes.
Q: What have you learned in your first few weeks here?
A: Kind of everything. In the post, in practice, I have to work on finishing and staying balanced on my shots. In high school it was easier to just kind of twist, turn and get the basket in, but I’m going up against stronger, mentally and physically than I am, so it’s helping me to become tougher.
Q: Which veterans have embraced you?
A: All of them. When it comes to posts, me and Victaria (Saxton) have been battling against each other in practice, so that’s helping me to become a better player.
Q: How long have you been on campus and what’s it been like?
A: I got here June 13. It’s been great. It’s been a pretty good transition. We’ve been practicing. I started taking classes.
Q: Are you settling in pretty well?
A: Yes. Everything’s happening pretty smoothly. We have our schedule of when we’re things so that makes it easier for me so I know exactly what I’m doing.
Q: How’s the blend with the other newcomers? Are you mixing together in practice?
A: I think we have. We’ve really gotten a feel for each other even though we’re just starting to play as a full team. We’re really seeing what everyone likes to do and how we can work off each other to make the team better.
Q: Are you anxious to play well early even though you have a lot to learn?
A: I feel like that’s going to happen regardless because we’re freshmen walking in and there’s a great team that we’re walking onto right now. There is anxiousness, but at the same time it’s what we’ve been doing for years. We’re playing basketball. We’re going up against stronger people but we need to stay mentally tough and get through it.
Q: The fans here love women’s basketball and have a lot of expectations. Do you embrace those?
A: We embrace it and keep working. We have to work hard. If we don’t work hard we cannot show what we can do. We stay doing exactly what we know we need to do and it should work out.
Q: What ultimately led you to USC?
A: Everything about it. I took all my visits. I talked to all the coaches, and at the end of the day I thought that Coach Staley could get me to where I need to be. The vibe I got from the team and everything was just great.
Q: Where is the place you need to be?
A: Four years (and then) WNBA, overseas, endorsements coming at me one after the other (laughs), and just getting better every day.
Q: How much of a factor was A’ja Wilson?
A: She was a great factor. Just to see where she came from freshman year to now she’s in the WNBA and all the accolades she got. It helped me to realize if I put in the work I could be as good as A’ja Wilson.
Q: How does it feel to be compared to A’ja Wilson and Alaina Coates?
A: Obviously I’m already in the line and they will be making comparisons. I know that I have to keep up what I’ve been doing and not slack off.
Q: What is the pressure for you and for this class?
A: There is some pressure. A lot of people expect us to come out and be stars but we have to work up to that, and we will. I’m excited to see the journey we take together.
Q: What is the message from the coaching staff about what you need to improve on?
A: We’ve been talking about my balance on the court and finishing and developing my outside game a little bit more. It’s been about growing basketball-wise.
Q: Have you seen the difference between recruiting Dawn Staley and coaching Dawn Staley?
A: (Laughing) Honestly? I think obviously there is a difference, but I knew that when I decided to (come here). I’m still okay. We’re going to work through it.
Q: All of you were the best player on your team in high school. Is it hard to mesh together?
A: I think that it’s going to be a change, but at the end of the day we all want the same thing. We all want to win. I think we all have the mentality that this is what we need to do: we need to win, we need to win, we need to win. We’re going to figure out what we need to do to get that goal and I think everything will mesh perfectly.
Q: Can you give a scouting report on yourself?
A: (Joking) I don’t want anyone to know! I’m very dominant in the post. That’s my strong suit and I know that and I like to get to the free throw line. I also can hit the mid-range jump shot. I’ve developed my three-game. I’m excited. I’m working on my ball-handling to beat people off the dribble here and there.
Q: Do you see yourself as someone who can compliment Victaria Saxton?
A: Yes. In practice I can see that we work pretty well together, working high-low or just watching cuts, when she cuts down, dishing her the pass. I think we can really work well together.
Q: How is the chemistry off the court?
A: The other day we went out for seafood, and it was quite exciting. We’ve been going out a lot together to get food or just chilling in each others’ room talking about things. That’s great and we’ve been doing it a lot. It’s exciting.
Q: What is your relationship to A’ja Wilson? She called you one of her babies.
A: It means a lot, really, because of how important she is in the basketball world for women. I would learn from her. When I watch WNBA games I learn from her how I can improve my game.
Q: Did you see that she is the first WNBA player in NBA 2K and what did you think?
A: It’s exciting to see that people are really starting to put WNBA or girls’ basketball players in general at a higher standard now. It’s a step up and I’m excited for the future holds for all girls’ basketball players.
Q: You were born in the Virgin Islands. When did you move to Massachusetts?
A: Five years ago, in 2014.
Q: Did you play before that?
A: I played a lot of basketball in the Virgin Islands. The exposure at the time wasn’t as great, so we initially came up for AAU basketball. We found a school that was close to my aunt, and my mom was like, “Do you guys want to move up here?” It was kind of a quick kind of thing. We were like, “Yeah!” and the next thing I know I’m going to school in Massachusetts.
Q: What was basketball like in the Virgin Islands?
A: It was good basketball but because it’s so small we kind of just play against the same groups. There’s so much talent there that I’m glad that, because I’m from there, more exposure is going to the Virgin Islands.
