In Defense of the Praise of A'ja

[bags27]

Seeing on the Board that ESPN was better tonight, I had the sound on. Meh.

But A'ja deserves the praise. She did a fantastic job for the program. I don't remember much about USC before A'ja (maybe there's a reason for that!), but they now draw huge crowds. And in a state whose social values aren't, shall we say, especially progressive, they went wild for WCBB. I don't know anything remotely bad about A'ja. If you want to criticize, criticize the media (very, very low hanging fruit in these days of budget cutbacks). But the more great players who lift their teams, the better it is for everyone.

 

[Roger G]

Agree. 27 points, 8 rebounds, while UConn was keying on her. That's impressive. And she seems like a first class young lady. I'll be rooting for her when she plays in the W with Moriah.

 

[HoopsFan21]

A'ja is basically their Lobo.

 

[Plebe]

What's not to like about A'ja Wilson? She stayed home and helped transform her state's flagship university from also-ran to national champion.

 

[Kaizen]

I like Wilson and she is a very nice player but the medias are just too much.

 

[schmendrick]

Beautiful post. It's so easy to demonize an opponent. And yet so satisfying to just appreciate greatness.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

No matter the sport, analysts, networks and sports writers tend to gush about the top talent. The Aja love has been pretty rampant all year but I agree, she's more than earned the accolades with her play and conduct. She's the best overall player in the country and yes some others are not far behind but she's the Rebecca Lobo of SC; a top tier talent who chose to go to a program that was ascending and laid a foundation for the future.

I'm unsure if SC can keep it up without her but will be watching.

 

[Shades]

 

[Scud49]

She's a tough player and a helluva good person, much respect and love for her.

 

[mdakota]

She is a great player... but they are all talking so somber... she's got a great career ahead of her...

 

[Plebe]

Before the A'ja era, SC's best postseason finish was an Elite Eight in 2002.

With A'ja, SC reached 2 Final Fours and is the only team other than UConn to win the tournament in the past 6 years.

 

[toadfoot]

Seeing on the Board that ESPN was better tonight, I had the sound on. Meh.

But A'ja deserves the praise. She did a fantastic job for the program. I don't remember much about USC before A'ja (maybe there's a reason for that!), but they now draw huge crowds. And in a state whose social values aren't, shall we say, especially progressive, they went wild for WCBB. I don't know anything remotely bad about A'ja. If you want to criticize, criticize the media (very, very low hanging fruit in these days of budget cutbacks). But the more great players who lift their teams, the better it is for everyone.

Terrific player and by all means give her the accolades she deserves, but good grief, ESPN prattled on and on the entire 2nd half, rarely even mentioning the thrashing being delivered by UConn. And how can someone be NPOY when they don’t play defense. I lost count at 7 times she stepped aside to allow uncontested layups.

 

[bags27]

Terrific player and by all means give her the accolades she deserves, but good grief, ESPN prattled on and on the entire 2nd half, rarely even mentioning the thrashing being delivered by UConn. And how can someone be NPOY when they don’t play defense. I lost count at 7 times she stepped aside to allow uncontested layups.

D was NPOY and she still doesn't know what the word "defense" means.

 

[shiverz45]

Terrific player and by all means give her the accolades she deserves, but good grief, ESPN prattled on and on the entire 2nd half, rarely even mentioning the thrashing being delivered by UConn. And how can someone be NPOY when they don’t play defense. I lost count at 7 times she stepped aside to allow uncontested layups.

She doesn't play defense? She was Co SEC defensive player of the year

 

[toadfoot]

D was NPOY and she still doesn't know what the word "defense" means.

Irrelevant. Diana was the greatest offensive player of her generation. Wilson can make no similar claim.

 

[toadfoot]

She doesn't play defense? She was Co SEC defensive player of the year

Watch the replay and then tell me she’s a good defender.

 

[bags27]

Irrelevant. Diana was the greatest offensive player of her generation. Wilson can make no similar claim.

Reread what you wrote: And how can someone be NPOY when they don’t play defense. I was responding to that claim. Whether D was the greatest or worst offensive player of her generation is irrelevant to your original claim.

 

[Plebe]

It's really astounding to me that some people insist on being bitter betsies. Show some grace and let a player have her moment, geezus.

 

[LasVegasYank]

<<Beautiful post. It's so easy to demonize an opponent. And yet so satisfying to just appreciate greatness. >>

I've read every post on this thread and not one came close to "demonizing" her. In fact, most were highly appreciative of her career at South Carolina. Most, including me, aimed our barbs at ESPN.

 

[CTrefugee]

She's good, but not in the same league as Breanna, Tina, Stef or a host of other bigs. She has shown me nothing but post-up. The greats could take you outside.

 

[svetbird]

she was an amazing player but never was a difference maker against us. She was outcast by our girls.

 

[UConnNick]

Seeing on the Board that ESPN was better tonight, I had the sound on. Meh.

But A'ja deserves the praise. She did a fantastic job for the program. I don't remember much about USC before A'ja (maybe there's a reason for that!), but they now draw huge crowds. And in a state whose social values aren't, shall we say, especially progressive, they went wild for WCBB. I don't know anything remotely bad about A'ja. If you want to criticize, criticize the media (very, very low hanging fruit in these days of budget cutbacks). But the more great players who lift their teams, the better it is for everyone.

I'm not quite sure I get what "progressive social values" have to do with being a women's BB fan. Plenty of teams in plenty of states you might choose to describe that way have had great WCBB teams and supported them well from time to time. Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Baylor, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Louisville come to mind.

 

[EasyEd]

I had no problem with their coverage of Wilson. When they did it, it was obvious UConn would win, so it would be the last time you got to see Wilson playing NCAA basketball.

 

[Reypl21]

She's good, but not in the same league as Breanna, Tina, Stef or a host of other bigs. She has shown me nothing but post-up. The greats could take you outside.

I think that she's better than Stef relative to them leaving college. If she can stay healthy, she'll be a better pro too.

 

[IWearShoes]

Watch the replay and then tell me she’s a good defender.

Is it possible she and her coach discussed allowing layups rather than fouling because her team had less than the near zero chance they started with if she was on the bench? A'ja can play D.

 

[bballnut90]

If she reads this—congrats on a fantastic career. She’s a heck of a player and has done a great job of being an ambassador for women’s college basketball the last 4 years. Seems very likeable and appears to be a fantastic teammate and leader. She also just wrote a nice piece on her struggles with dyslexia. Nothing not to like about her. She’ll be a great player for years to come.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I'm not quite sure I get what "progressive social values" have to do with being a women's BB fan. Plenty of teams in plenty of states you might choose to describe that way have had great WCBB teams and supported them well from time to time. Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Baylor, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Louisville come to mind.

I wasn't going to respond to the original post, but since you did, I will. Columbia and Richland County are just as progressive and liberal as the State of Connecticut. It is the Upstate of SC that is extremely far right. Hopefully, I didn't cross the no politics threshold. As far as the reason for our great attendance, A'ja's presence definitely helped, but most of the credit for high attendance needs to go to Dawn. That woman interacts with our fans more than every other coach combined. The fans return the love, plain and simple.

 

[SCGamecock]

I had no problem with their coverage of Wilson. When they did it, it was obvious UConn would win, so it would be the last time you got to see Wilson playing NCAA basketball.

That’s exactly why they gushed about her for an eternity late in the game. Kia and Gabby still have games to play.. they’ll get theirs, Gabby especially, who I think is the next best player after Wilson.

 

[SCGamecock]

Terrific player and by all means give her the accolades she deserves, but good grief, ESPN prattled on and on the entire 2nd half, rarely even mentioning the thrashing being delivered by UConn. And how can someone be NPOY when they don’t play defense. I lost count at 7 times she stepped aside to allow uncontested layups.

Avoiding fouls. A’ja leaves the floor and UConn would’ve won by 60.

 

[UConnNick]

Avoiding fouls. A’ja leaves the floor and UConn would’ve won by 60.

I have the utmost respect for Wilson and she's a great player, but when you're a senior and as experienced as she is, you have to be able to play D without fouling. As a coaching strategy, you cannot play a team as talented as UCONN 4-on-5 defensively. You may only lose by 30 instead of 60, but does that really matter?