Time for a statue? Aliyah Boston’s USC career continues to raise the question

Arkansas head coach Mike Neighbors once again saw A’ja Wilson’s statue outside Colonial Life Arena before Sunday’s game against South Carolina.

Just three days before, he was in Baton Rouge and saw the newly unveiled Seimone Augustus statue that LSU erected outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. During Sunday’s game, he watched USC star Aliyah Boston record a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double, setting the record for the most in program history.

Neighbors — Boston’s opposing coach now seven times over — made a suggestion.

“I wouldn’t dare make the judgment instead of y’all but, I mean, I don’t know how much room y’all got out there for another statue,” Neighbors hinted.

Wilson’s statue went up in 2021 to honor her four-year career at South Carolina. She committed to USC as the No. 1 recruit in the country in 2014, and helped the team win its first national championship.

Unlike Boston, though, Wilson was born and raised in Columbia, S.C.

Both have the two most decorated women’s basketball careers at South Carolina considering their awards and statistics. A second national championship would allow Boston to eclipse Wilson in that category.

But Wilson’s decision to join the team, Boston feels, laid the foundation for what the Gamecocks are doing now.

“I think her presence is a big reason as to why all of us are here,” Boston said. “That statue, it means something different. I think it means more than the stats that appear on the stat sheet, but what she has done for this program to help it get to where it needs to be.”

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley coached Wilson for four years and is in her fourth year coaching Boston.

She’s often said that Boston wanted to come into the program being only herself, not seeking to be compared to others. With the records she’s set at USC — such as career double-doubles, double-doubles in SEC play and the most defensive and offensive rebounds in a career — Boston’s certainly made a name for herself.

“She doesn’t make you forget about the ones that started the success here at South Carolina, but she certainly, you can argue, has a pretty darn big impact in the history books,” Staley said. “If she brings us home another one, she’s in a class by herself.”

Boston’s accolades include a national championship, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, SEC Player of the Year, two first-team All-American selections, three Lisa Leslie Awards for best center in the country, three SEC Defensive Player of the Year awards and a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.

Wilson went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. Since then, she’s won a league championship, two MVP awards and a defensive player of the year award. Boston’s projected to go No. 1 in this coming draft.

Boston’s many achievements at South Carolina will certainly get honored after she leaves, even if it isn’t with a statue.

“I mean, if they don’t put one up, I’m chilling,” Boston said. “I’m vibing. That one out there looks good.”