WNBA: A’ja Wilson’s No. 22 is now sacrosanct at South Carolina

Colonial Life Arena officially is the house that A’ja Wilson built. Her statue already stood outside. And now her jersey hangs in the rafters.

South Carolina retired the Columbia native’s No. 22 jersey on Sunday afternoon.

While she since has become this era’s definitional WNBA superstar, a winner of two championships and three MVPs, among other honors, with the Las Vegas Aces, Wilson also amassed an array of then-unprecedented accomplishments during her four seasons wearing garnet and black, including:

NCAA national champion (2017)
unanimous National Player of the Year (2018)
4x All-American (2015-18)
4x SEC Tournament champion (2015-18)
3x SEC regular-season champion (2015-17)
3x SEC Player of the Year (2016-18)

She also is the program’s all-time leading scorer and shot blocker. It’s those tangible achievements, along with her intangibles—leadership, dedication, commitment, joy—that led Dawn Staley to declare that no future Gamecock will wear No. 22. Per the policy of South Carolina’s athletic department, the retirement of an athlete’s jersey does not prevent a future athlete from wearing that number. But for South Carolina women’s basketball, No. 22 is now sacrosanct.

In the ceremony held before No. 2 South Carolina played Auburn, Wilson said, “South Carolina shaped me, not just as an athlete but as a person. As I look in the rafters and see my jersey, I am reminded how important it is to chase your dreams without fear.”

Staley showered her most successful protégé with deserved praised, saying:

What she means to our program is legendary. You think of legendary as what they do on the court, but the magic of A’ja is all the other stuff. It’s OK to come to a local college, university, and take on the pressures. It’s a pressure thing because you are doing it in front of all of the people that know you. You only want to do well in front of them.

Staley added, “…because of A’ja, we continue to get top talent.”

That top talent was on display during Sunday’s game, as the current Gamecocks honored Wilson with a 83-66 victory over Auburn. Two local players who are beginning their bids to become Gamecock legends had productive afternoons, with freshman forward Joyce Edwards scoring a team-best 18 points and sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley adding 17 points.

The victory was the Gamecocks’ 56th-straight SEC regular-season win.