LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Team USA will board a plane Monday for Tokyo where that group hopes to record a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal for the Red, White and Blue.
Former Gamecock All-American A’ja Wilson will make her Olympic debut and in spite of her collegiate and professional resume, her college coach isn’t cutting her any slack.
Team USA head coach Dawn Staley says she has not differed in her coaching when dealing with her former player and Staley adds that A’ja is receptive to being pushed.
Since leaving South Carolina as the most decorated player in the history of Gamecock basketball, Wilson has excelled in the WNBA where she was named Rookie of the Year after she was chosen by the Las Vegas Aces with the first pick of the 2018 WNBA Draft. In 2020, Wilson was named the WNBA MVP.
Staley says since coming in the league, she has seen Wilson improve dramatically on the court.
“She’s much more seasoned,” Staley said.
“I think she has a really good understanding of how to play. She’s not so regimented into running sets and being where she needs to be. She can just flow offensively without being in some type of structure and you just learn that as a pro. The good ones can usually expand their game and the good ones, when you set them up for a play they can deliver in any situation and A’ja’s just that.”