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A'ja Wilson

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A'ja Wilson
No. 22 – Las Vegas Aces
PositionForward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-08-08) August 8, 1996 (age 27)
Hopkins, South Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Career information
High schoolHeathwood Hall Episcopal
(Columbia, South Carolina)
CollegeSouth Carolina (2014–2018)
WNBA draft2018: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Las Vegas Aces
Playing career2018–present
Career highlights and awards

A'ja Wilson (born August 8, 1996)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson was the first overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. Wilson was the number 1 ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100 prospect in 2014.[2] Wilson played for the South Carolina Gamecocks in college, and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2017, and won the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award. In 2018, she won a record 3rd straight SEC Player of the Year award, led South Carolina to a record 4th straight SEC Tournament Championship, became the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina women's basketball history, and was a consensus first-team All-American for the third consecutive season. Wilson swept all National Player of the Year awards (Wade, AP, Honda, USBWA, Wooden, and Naismith) as the best player in Women's College basketball for 2018.

Personal life

Wilson was born to Roscoe and Eva Wilson. Her father played basketball professionally in Europe for 10 seasons. She graduated from Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in 2014. She attended the University of South Carolina, majoring in Psychology. She represented the Gamecocks as a forward in basketball.[3] She completed her Senior year at South Carolina.

High school

Throughout Wilson's high school career she played a total of 119 games. She averaged 24.7 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks a game throughout her high school career. She was number 22 and played as a forward.[4] After finishing as a runner-up in her junior year, Wilson led Heathwood Hall to the 2014 state championship as a senior. She won the National High School player of the year in 2014, was a Parade and McDonald's All-American, and was the #1 rated HoopGurlz top 100 recruit. Wilson chose to stay home, and committed to the University of South Carolina.

College career

Wilson played in 37 games her freshmen year, leading to 4 single game freshmen records in the SEC and 3 single season freshmen records in the SEC, and won the SEC Freshman of the year award.[5] In 2016 as a Sophomore she would win her first SEC Player of the year ward and was a consensus All-American, Wilson led the Gamecocks to a SEC regular season and Tournament Championship. In 2017 Wilson once again led the Gamecocks to a SEC regular season and Tournament championship, and went on to win the schools first National Championship with a stirring victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the championship game. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.[6] In 2018, Wilson had her best season statistically, and won all of the National player of the year awards. She won a record 3rd straight SEC Player of the Year award, and was also a Consensus All-American for the third straight year. Wilson finished her college career at South Carolina as the all-time leading scorer for the school.

South Carolina statistics

Statistics courtesy NCAA Statistics[7]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014-15 South Carolina 37 486 53.8% 33.3% 66.2% 6.6 1.0 0.9 1.8 13.1
2015-16 South Carolina 33 530 53.1% 0.0% 72.3% 8.7 1.4 0.8 3.1 16.1
2016-17 South Carolina 35 626 58.8% 0.0% 73.7% 7.8 1.4 1.2 2.6 17.9
2017-18 South Carolina 33 747 54.2% 41.7% 73.2% 11.8 1.7 1.0 3.2 22.6
Career 138 2389 55.0% 37.5% 71.5% 8.7 1.4 1.0 2.6 17.3

Awards and Honors

College

High School

  • National High School Player of the Year (WBCA, Naismith, Parade) (2014)
  • McDonald's All-America (2013-14)
  • Parade All-America (2013-14)
  • Gatorade South Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year (2013-2014)

References

  1. ^ "South Carolina Gamecock". South Carolina Gamecocks. University of South Carolina. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  2. ^ "HoopGurlz -- South Carolina Gamecocks get commitment from A'ja Wilson, No. 1 prospect in espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 for 2014 recruiting class". espnW. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  3. ^ "A'ja Wilson Bio University of South Carolina Official Athletic Site". www.gamecocksonline.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  4. ^ "A'ja Wilson's High School Girls Basketball Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  5. ^ "SEC women's basketball awards announced". SECsports.com. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Women's Final Four: South Carolina beats Mississippi State to win first national title". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  7. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
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