Three members of the South Carolina women’s basketball team were featured on a midseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award, the most prestigious individual honor in women’s college basketball.
Junior forward Aliyah Boston, senior guard Destanni Henderson and junior guard Zia Cooke were among 25 players from across the country named to the shortlist that was announced on Jan. 6. Each player has played a significant role on a Gamecocks team that has remained atop the AP poll for the entire season.
Boston has established a dominant presence in the paint throughout the season, leading the SEC in field goal percentage (56.1%), and ranking in the top five in rebounds (11.5) and blocks (2.9) per game as of Jan. 25. She recently set the program record for consecutive double-doubles. Boston extended this streak to 12 games after the Gamecocks defeated Vanderbilt on Monday, demonstrating her ability to impact all aspects of the game.
“You get her the basketball, she delivers,” head coach Dawn Staley said. “She’s passing it, she’s rebounding, she’s scoring ... she’s doing Aliyah things.”
Staley praised Boston for her ability to adapt and develop her game, especially at a position where it is difficult to do so.
“She’s constantly working. And she’s constantly just adding to her game,” Staley said. “I mean, it’s beautiful that we could see it happen in such a short period of time."
Cooke shares similar sentiments with her coach and appreciates the professionalism her teammate embodies every day.
“I say this in a lot of interviews, but I think she’s maturing,” Cooke said. “Like when she’s out there, she looks like a pro. I tell her that all the time."
Henderson has also been a frequent contributor to the Gamecocks’ success so far this season. She has accumulated multiple high-scoring performances and reached the 1,000-point milestone for her collegiate career in South Carolina’s victory over Arkansas on Jan. 16.
Henderson has been able to do all this despite missing a month due to injury. She used that time away from the court to reflect on her impact on it.
“For me, it was a learning process, just learning what’s happening on the floor while I’m not playing,” Henderson said. “And just realizing that my team actually needs me and that I have a role in this team.”
Staley is amazed by how Henderson, like Boston, has matured greatly during her time with the program.
“I’ve just seen her grow. I mean, she talks a lot more. She facilitates a lot more. Now she’s starting to be aggressive in scoring in different phases of the game,” Staley said. “So it’s just the whole evolution of her being a senior point guard in our program.”
Cooke has dealt with her own forms of adversity during the season as well. After an early shooting slump, she has reemerged into form and is now averaging almost 12 points per game.
“I think that just comes from me, you know, staying the course, not getting down on myself — even when I wasn’t playing so well I continued to do what I did best and keep working hard,” Cooke said.
Staley knows that when Cooke is playing at her best, she can be a valuable offensive threat against the Gamecock’s opponents.
“When Zia plays well, I mean, it just raises the level of our entire team,” Staley said. “And some players have that impact, and she is that for us."
Only time will tell whether one of these three Gamecocks will be holding the Wooden Award trophy at the end of the season. The award will be announced following the 2022 NCAA tournament in April.