BLOCK PARTY

THOUGH ALIYAH BOSTON IS STILL JUST A FRESHMAN, HER GAME ON THE COURT AND HER PERSONALITY OFF OF IT HAVE ALREADY SEPARATED HER AS ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE COUNTRY.

- HOWARD MEGDAL

ALIYAH BOSTON, 6-5 freshman linchpin of the dominant South Carolina women’s basketball team, has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to her decision-making.

A native of St. Thomas, she played and excelled as the lone girl in a boys (ages 9-11) league, but it became obvious that she needed a larger challenge. AAU provided that, but it meant moving to Massachusetts as a 12-year-old, along with her older sister, Alexis, then 14.

So when she sat down with her parents, Cleone and Algernon, they hesitated to send their younger daughter hundreds of miles away. Aliyah, though, didn’t pause for a moment.

“So my mom was like, ‘Oh, would you guys want to move?’ And I was like, Sure, why not?” Boston recalls. “I don’t think I really was affected by the move initially as my parents were. Because they’re letting their daughters move to the States, and we were just 12 and 14. But I was fine. I was excited. I was like, This is cool.”

She’s certainly made herself at home, though it’s important to note St. Thomas is a US territory: by this past summer, she was a starter and key player on USA Basketball’s U19 team that won gold at the U19 World Cup. No one would be surprised to see her debut on the senior squad before her collegiate career is complete. The USA Basketball head coach, after all, knows a little about her game: it’s South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.