Stopping Wilson won’t be easy
South Carolina star will get a lot of attention from UConn
Albany, N.Y. — A'Ja Wilson has accomplished just about everything, winning the 2017 national championship, breaking South Carolina's career scoring record with more than 2,000 points, becoming the first person in the storied history of the Southeastern Conference to be named player of the year three times.
But Wilson, the Gamecocks' 6-foot-5 senior forward, isn't one to skip out on the lighter side of things.
“I take a lot of pride in just having fun,” Wilson said. “Whether that's yelling; I don't care if I'm by myself, I'm still going to yell. If I get an and-one (an opportunity for a three-point play), I'm going to yell. If my teammates get an and-one, I'm really going crazy.
“That's just part of the game. Definitely, having fun is a huge, huge deal in this game of basketball.”
On Sunday, Wilson smiled her way through a press conference that was held in anticipation of tonight's game between No. 1 UConn and No. 2 South Carolina for the NCAA women's basketball tournament's Albany Regional final.
Wilson left the dais, giving coach Dawn Staley a tap on the way by, leaving Staley with a “have fun!”
Wilson also had an entry posted Saturday to The Players' Tribune online, revealing her lifelong struggle with dyslexia.
“This is a period in my life … this is where my collegiate career is slowly coming to an end and I just felt deep down in my heart that it was OK for the world to know what I was battling with,” Wilson said. “Oh, man, it's lifted a lot of weight off my shoulders for people to understand.”
Her teammates also look to Wilson both on the floor, where she averages 22.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, and off.
“I pretty much agree with A'Ja,” South Carolina's Alexis Jennings said in answer to one question Sunday.
So, how to stop Wilson, attempting to lead her team back to the Final Four?
“When you're getting ready to play somebody like A'Ja, I've been battling it back and forth,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “There's no easy answer. There's things that A'ja Wilson does that you could say, 'Well we need to do something about that.' Well, you can talk about it all you want. You still have to be able to stop it.
“Each year she's gotten a little bit better at figuring out what you're trying to do and has an answer for it. … It's still going to come down to her supporting cast, too. For us, we've got to do a great job on her, but their supporting cast is pretty good.”
Brand name
The UConn women's team was already in Albany for its regional when former Rhode Island coach Danny Hurley was named the UConn men's basketball coach Thursday and introduced Friday. Auriemma was asked if he thought Hurley could repair the UConn brand.
“How long does it really take to go from, 'You're a brand that has won four national championships in 20 years to all of a sudden, 'We've lost it,'” Auriemma said in the hallway outside the interview room Saturday. “… Sometimes people want it to happen quickly, but this isn't one of those things where Connecticut is going away.
“We're still Connecticut basketball. We still have something very few other schools do have.”
Rooting interest
Before they left the podium Saturday, it was requested that Duke players Lexie Brown, Faith Suggs and Leaonna Odom weigh in on the UConn-South Carolina matchup.
Duke faced both teams this season, falling to South Carolina 72-52 on Dec. 3 before bowing out of the NCAA tournament against UConn in the Albany Regional semifinal.
“I think they can beat UConn,” Brown said of the Gamecocks. “… Of course, (UConn) is a super-talented team, super-competitive, but A'ja is probably one of the most competitive players that I've played against and I've watched and I think she can carry that team.
“I'm definitely rooting for South Carolina, but, you know, UConn is a great team and if they win it, it's only because they deserve to.”
A few moments later, Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie expressed surprise at her players' rooting interests.
“As far as I'm concerned, the team that beats you in the tournament is the one that needs to win it,” McCallie said. “So, I don't know if I share all this dialogue to my left. I hope Connecticut does well and I'm sure they will, but that's just how I feel about things.”
Quotable
Auriemma was seated next to UConn sophomore Crystal Dangerfield for Sunday's press conference. Throughout the portion of the question and answer period designated for the Huskies' starting five, Auriemma spent a good amount of time whispering to Dangerfield.
“What was I talking to Crystal about?” Auriemma said with a grin. “I just reminded her that if she gets 10 steals (Monday), she'll move up to fourth in our starting lineup. And she was arguing with me, but I know I'm right.
“It's my daily dose of getting on someone's nerves. I can't go for more than an hour without doing that.”