South Carolina women's basketball: A'ja Wilson and Dawn Staley talk about Wilson's jersey retirement

On Sunday, The Statue will have her jersey hung in the rafters. South Carolina will officially retire A’ja Wilson’s jersey before the game against Auburn.

“It’s a lot of emotion,” Wilson said on Saturday. “It’s a lot of fun. I get to reflect, walking back here and working out this morning, I’m like, Dang, I have some great memories here. We’ve had a lot of great time here.”

“It’s about giving people their flowers,” Dawn Staley said. “There’s no one more deserving this weekend than A’ja. She legitimized our program, she took it to another level, and we still feel her legacy today.”

Wilson’s number 22 jersey has been unofficially retired since 2018 when Wilson wrapped up her eligibility. Saniya Rivers confirmed as much when she explained that she wore number 44 in her lone season at South Carolina (2021-22) because they weren’t giving out the number 22.

“Never,” Staley said. “It’s retired. I can confirm that.”

Wilson’s statue was officially unveiled on January 18, 2021. It was still during the COVID-19 pandemic, so attendance at the ceremony was limited to a handful of friends, family members, and dignitaries.

This time, Wilson will get to celebrate with 18,000 of her closest FAMs. The game was sold out before the season began.

“This is huge. This is a big, big moment,” Wilson said. “I’m super blessed just to be able to say that my jersey is being in the rafters, in my home. Not a lot of people can say that. Just to be able to have everybody come out and just enjoy the moment and I can share the moment with everyone, it’s going to be truly, truly special. So I’m excited.”

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Wilson attended South Carolina’s practice Saturday morning and worked out with the current players. After practice was over, she spent about 30 minutes talking to the players and answers their questions. 

“That’s how we bridge the gap,” Wilson said. “The mere fact that you’re a part of this program, you’re a pro already. You’re a pro whether it’s in life or on the court. Sometimes when you hear it a lot from your coaches it’s kind of goes in one ear and out the other because (you’re) a player. But when you can hear it from somebody who’s lived it, been through it, it puts a whole other perspective to it. I’m so grateful that I can be here and share a little knowledge. I really opened it up to them to ask questions.”

Wilson already has the statue, something that was put in motion during the end of her senior season. South Carolina doesn’t have any requirements regarding a statue, but the athletics department has codified the requirements to have a jersey retired.

A player must be a graduate or in good academic standing, and meet at least one of the following requirements: university record holder, consensus All-American, consensus national player of the year, an Olympic medalist while at South Carolina, or make first- or second-team All-SEC at least three times.

Most importantly, there is a five-year waiting period that begins at the end of the athlete’s final college season.

“The statue’s old now,” Staley joked. “There’s so many eyes that’s been on the statue that it was almost a prelude to today. If we couldn’t retire her jersey (then), what better way than to put a statue out front.”

Wilson meets those requirements many times over. She is South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer, leader in blocked shots, and leader in free throws made and attempted. Wilson swept all the national Player of the Year awards in 2018 and was a three-time first-team All-American, plus third-team as a freshman. She was first-team All-SEC all four years and is the only player ever to win SEC Player of the Year three times.

Wilson didn’t win an Olympic medal while at South Carolina, but she has won two since then, and earlier this week was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

Wilson’s five-year waiting period was actually up last season. But with a number of greats becoming eligible soon, the decision was made to start with Tiffany Mitchell, Dawn Staley’s “firstborn.”

Mitchell’s number 25 jersey was retired on November 12, 2023, before the season’s home opener against Maryland.

Wilson and Mitchell join Sheila Foster (53), Shannon Johnson (14), and Martha Parker (13) (their numbers are retired. South Carolina has switched to retiring jerseys instead of numbers) as South Carolina’s retired jerseys.

Although the number 22 is technically still available, it’s hard to imagine the Gamecocks ever putting it back into circulation. That means Wilson was the last of seven players to wear the number.

It won’t be long until more jerseys are raised. Zia Cooke also meets the requirements, but Aliyah Boston’s number 4 is a given. She becomes eligible in 2028, and Staley is confident there will be a ceremony that season.

“Aliyah,” Staley said. “We might have to get a statue out there, we might have to play chess with the statues.”

Current players Joyce Edwards, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Tessa Johnson, and others could also be eligible someday. 

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