To say that A'ja Wilson accomplished a lot during her sophomore season could be an understatement. The 6-foot-5 forward was named a first team All-American, SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year while setting a school record for blocks and leading the team in scoring.
For Wilson, doing that once isn't enough.
"That’s still one of my goals: to be Player of the Year in the SEC, and then next is National Player of the Year," Wilson said.
With the graduation of three-time AP Player of the Year Breanna Stewart, the nation's top individual awards are up for grabs. And after being a finalist last year, Wilson is certainly in the mix. There's even talk that Wilson could replace Stewart as the face of the sport.
"It’s crazy going from a girl who really didn’t want to play the game of basketball to now possibly being the face of women’s basketball," the Hopkins, South Carolina, native said.
It's yet to be seen if Wilson can steal the national spotlight, but she's certainly the focus locally. The rising junior played her high school ball at Heathwood Hall, just six miles from her new home at Colonial Life Arena. After watching last year's NBA Finals, Wilson is even more motivated to bring a championship to Columbia.
"It would be one of the greatest things I could ever imagine," Wilson said. "I was just looking at LeBron and how he brought titles back to Ohio, and that’s something I’d love to do for South Carolina."
If the Gamecocks are to win the championship this season, Wilson will be one of the team's leaders, replacing Tiffany Mitchell, the most decorated player in program history. Wilson admitted that Mitchell "left some big shoes to fill," but the new WNBA star is still helping out her old squad.
"I’ve been talking with her and also Aleighsa Welch, and they’ve really been helping me kinda form into my own kind of way of leading this team," Wilson said.
Wilson won't be alone in leading the Gamecocks, and she won't have to look outside the frontcourt to find another talented veteran in Alaina Coates. The post duo, coupled with transfers Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray, is the main reason South Carolina is regarded as one of the best four teams in the country, or even No. 3 in the Coaches Poll.
The Gamecocks spent the majority of last season as the nation's No. 2 team, but Wilson thinks the squad can be even stronger this year. When asked if South Carolina should be title favorites, her answer was simple: "Most definitely. That's the plan."
"But I'm super biased," Wilson added.