A’ja Wilson will have her No. 22 retired by her alma mater, the University of South Carolina.
The highly-anticipated ceremony will take place at the Colonial Life Arena when the Gamecocks play Auburn on Feb. 2.
Dawn Staley, Wilson’s former coach at South Carolina, broke the good news to her.
“When you coming to see us? We need a date. We need a date because your jersey is going to be retired. It’s that time,” Staley said to Wilson on a video call.
“Everybody wants me to cry today! No way!” Wilson responded.
“Stop all that crying, listen get yourself together get yourself together,” Staley commented.
As the program’s first No. 1 recruit, Wilson was a three-time Southeastern Conference player of the year, leading the Gamecocks to their first national title in 2017.
Wilson, a four-time All-American and the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,389 points is the most decorated player in program history. Additionally, she was also named Naismith College Player of the Year (2017-18) and won the John R. Wooden Award the same year.
Back in 2018, Wilson was selected by the Las Vegas Aces as the No. 1 draft pick and is arguably the best player in the league. She has won two championships, three WNBA MVPs, and became just the second player to be named the unanimous winner.
Over the summer, Wilson captured her second gold medal for the U.S. Women’s Basketball team to the Olympic title this past summer in Paris.
This past season, Wilson averaged 26.9 points per game, 11.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.8 steals.
At her alma mater, Wilson has a statue in honor of her brilliant career. She will become the fifth player in the school’s history to have her number retired.
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