In high school, few people knew just how good a player Aliyah Boston would turn out to be.
Boston, the 6’5” star forward for the South Carolina Gamecocks who has averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds a game this season, is leading her squad to the number-one overall seed in this year’s women’s NCAA basketball tournament. So she’s shown she’s pretty freakin’ good.
In her prep days at Worcester Academy, Boston was just scratching the surface — but the trajectory for dominance was evident. Sherry Levin, who started coaching Boston her sophomore year in Worcester, saw the makings of a great player when she first watched her game tape.
“I’m like, this is a kid who has potential, who was not needed her freshman year to really shine ‘cause they had a lot of veterans who were three-point shooters and guards,” Levin said. “And I thought, you know what, I can build a whole system and an offense around this girl, because again, she has tremendous potential.”
Now that potential has turned into momentum as Boston leads the Gamecocks through March Madness. And the folks back at Worcester Academy may be some of the most hardcore South Carolina fans north of the Mason-Dixon line, closely and proudly watching the player who might just be the best to ever walk through their doors.
The private school’s Hilltoppers have been producing athletes for more than a century. Among the notable hoopers to come out of the program are two current NBA head coaches: former Celtic Rick Carlisle with the Indiana Pacers and Mike Malone with the Denver Nuggets.
But for director of athletics Ed Reilly, Boston stands out.
“You know, I’ve been around prep school basketball for almost two decades,” he said. “And there’s never been a female basketball player like her that I’ve seen. She dominated the game on both sides of the basketball. And so I would think that without too much exaggeration I can sit here comfortably on a beautiful March day and tell you that she’s probably the best female basketball player ever to play in” the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.
When it comes to Boston’s resume in Worcester, the accolades don’t lie. She was the Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Basketball Player of the Year for three straight years, an achievement marked with a trio of banners that hang over the academy’s gymnasium. Her senior year she was the USA Today Massachusetts Player of the Year, a SLAM All-American, a McDonald’s All-American and she led the Hilltoppers to a 24–1 record along with their second-straight NEPSAC Class A championship.
Even with all the titles she collected at Worcester Academy, though, Levin said Boston always had an eye on the future. If she dropped 30 points one game, her next workout she’d be focused on adding to her mid-range shot or fine-tuning her hook shot. That drive to improve is something Levin sees Boston has taken to South Carolina.
"She's not content with all the things she's gotten, because it's just where she is right now. She wants to be the best that she can be and nobody, I think, knows [what that best is] because the ceiling is so high."Sherry Levin, Boston’s high school coach
“And a part of that too is, I always give credit to where credit is due, but to her family for instilling a humility, for instilling a spirituality,” she said. “She’s a friend to all, she’s very gracious and she understands, ‘This is not where I want to be right now.’ Like, she wants to get better and better. And I think that’s something else that has carried her through to this point. She’s not content with all the things she’s gotten, because it’s just where she is right now. She wants to be the best that she can be and nobody, I think, knows [what that best is] because the ceiling is so high.”
As dominant as Boston has been, her college career has been mired with setbacks. Her stellar freshman season was halted in its tracks when COVID-19 wiped out the NCAA tournament. Last season, in a tournament marked with COVID restrictions and a spotlight on the inequality between the men’s and women’s brackets, South Carolina fell to eventual champion Stanford in a heartbreaker in the Final Four.
But this year, it finally feels like the red carpet’s been properly rolled out for the junior who just might be the best player in the country. Her Gamecocks are the favorites to win the whole women’s basketball enchilada and recently landed a coveted spot on the cover of SLAM Magazine.
None of that’s obvious listening to Boston, though, who keeps Worcester close to her heart and is notably zeroed in on winning the title. She came to Massachusetts after growing up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but speaking before the Gamecocks’ first tournament game during a news conference last week, she talked about how she still stays in contact with people in her adopted city.
“I’m still very connected to Worcester,” she said. “My aunt still lives there and a lot of my old coaches, and they’ve all been texting me and just continuing to encourage me, and so I’m just really glad that I’m able to help represent them.”
That feeling is mutual for her high school coach and everyone at Worcester Academy. Levin cried when South Carolina lost to Stanford last year, a reflection of the tears Boston shed on the court after missing a last-second putback that would have clinched the game. This year, the excitement and stress are as high as ever as Boston stretches to reach a potential that was once just a dream on a court in central Massachusetts.
“Watching it from my eyes and my lens is probably different than a casual viewer because I am watching Aliyah,” Levin said. “I mean, she knows she has a fan in me, the family knows she has a fan in me. So in watching it, yes, I have more nerves, yes, I have more emotion. It is a very emotional experience because I am rooting so hard for somebody that I really care about, and our lives are intertwined, and we’re on a journey together and a road that will continue forever.”
