Aliyah Boston's dominance is establishing South Carolina as the team to beat
Plus, has NC State entered the top tier?
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A few short weeks ago when South Carolina was named the preseason No. 1 team, the discussion was focusing on the added depth this roster had over last year’s squad. The addition of Kamilla Cardoso and the top recruiting class in the country would take this team to the next level, making them the team to beat in 2021-22.
In reality, at least through the first eight games of the season, the Gamecocks’ depth hasn’t been the star of the show. Most of their production, particularly against top tier opponents (NC State and UConn, specifically) has come from their returners. South Carolina’s dominance this season has really come on the heels of Aliyah Boston elevating her game.
While you can point to many of the returners’ strides forward this season having a positive impact for South Carolina, Boston’s is the most evident. There’s never really been a question that Boston is a superstar and she has been a dominant force in the last two seasons, but it often felt as if we weren’t witnessing her full potential. Particularly last year, it felt like there were times where South Carolina failed to play through her and take advantage of having her talent on the floor.
While a similar pattern may have been evident in the season’s earliest games, with Boston at times playing limited minutes as well, it seems to have faded as the Gamecocks have found their stride in the past couple of weeks. Boston is now leading the team in usage rate, at 28.5 percent, meaning she is finishing more possessions than any other South Carolina player on the floor - which is exactly what you want your best player to be doing.
Her assertion on the offensive end has included 22 points against UConn in route to leading the Gamecocks to a big win the Bahamas. Even more notable than the 22 points themselves, was the way they were scored. Boston knocked down long-twos and even a triple in the game. If Boston continues to knock down those types of shots with even a little more consistency than she has thus far, players will have to completely change how you guard her.
While the expanded range of her offense has taken a small hit to some of her efficiency numbers, Boston has also proved she still has the ability to dominate in the paint as much as anyone in the country. Just yesterday, she scored 29 points on a perfect 13-13 performance from the floor in just 20 minutes against North Carolina A&T. (That performance did contain another three-pointer, by the way).
Boston’s offensive performances leave plenty to talk about, but her dominance on the defensive end is largely unmatched. It is hard to find player that has a better inside presence than Boston does so far this season, although her defense is a bit hard to quantify.
So far this season, Boston is averaging eight rebounds per game, grabbing nearly a quarter of South Carolina’s defensive rebound opportunities while on the floor and posting a block rate in the 99th percentile. While all these numbers are really good, they fail to account for her full impact. For one, the Gamecocks have a wealth of talent in the frontcourt that share the floor throughout the game. Additionally, Brea Beal is a really strong rebounding guard. This goes to say, that Boston doesn’t need to average a double-double to be the most dominant post in the country. Additionally, while a block rate of nearly 10 percent is already impressive, it doesn’t account for the Gamecocks having multiple rim protectors on the floor and the way teams already alter their shots for Boston’s presence in the paint.
The Aliyah Boston we’ve seen in the last two weeks of the season is one of, if not the most dominant player in the game so far this season. If South Carolina can continue to use her talent as they have and unlock her full potential, they will be the team to beat in March.
Has NC State proved that they are part of this year’s top tier?
NC State made a statement in the Bahamas. Their 6-0 run since losing the season opener to South Carolina now includes a statement win over Maryland. The Wolfpack dominated wire-to-wire in the Thanksgiving day matchup, emerging with a 78-60 victory. However, the Terps were very shorthanded in the Baha Mar Championship, which does limit what can be taken away from such a convincing victory.
What’s most impressive about the Wolfpack right now, is that we haven’t seen them at full strength yet. Jada Boyd, the reigning ACC sixth woman of the year, has played in just two games after missing the start of the season with an injury. She’s averaged just under ten minutes in those two outings, but figures to be a crucial piece of NC State’s rotation once she’s at full strength.
In the meantime, NC State has a chance at adding another big win to their resume on Thursday, when they take on No. 6 Indiana in the Big Ten / ACC challenge. If the Wolfpack secures a victory o the road, they have firmly established themselves among this year’s top tier.