The South Carolina basketball program has been one of the elite programs across college basketball over the last decade. Dawn Staley's team has won two national championships (and probably would have won one more had it not been for the Covid shutdown), and the Gamecocks have put some very talented players into the WNBA.
As it turns out, they've also put at least one very talented player into an analyst's chair.
During her first full WNBA offseason, South Carolina basketball legend Aliyah Boston has been working with NBC and Peacock as an analyst for Big 10 games. While she always had her heart set on playing basketball professionally (and is doing a great job of that as evidenced by her 2023 All-Star selection and WNBA Rookie of the Year honors), but the Virgin Islands native majored in Communications while at the University of South Carolina, and that experience has made her transition to the studio this offseason a smooth one.
Boston is not the first player to work on television broadcasts during the WNBA offseason, but she might be getting some of the best reviews for her work in front of the camera.
Aliyah Boston is phenomenal on NBC/Peacock pre-game and halftime reports for womens basketball. Great move by the network.
— Kyle Bowlsby (@kbowlsby) January 17, 2024
For someone who this time last year was a college student, it’s amazing just how good Aliyah Boston is as a studio analyst for Peacock.
— Jane Burns (@jrburns) January 17, 2024
Okay, I've been living under a literal rock but Aliyah Boston doing Big Ten studio coverage is awesome. Already sounding so seasoned, doing a great job and covering teams she was *just* playing less than a year ago, impressive to say the least
— Justine Brown (@Justine_Brown) January 17, 2024
Boston has thrived in her role as an analyst thanks in large part to her experience as a player. She is one of the best college defensive players of all-time, so she sees things on the court differently (and better) than almost anyone else in the world. Working as an analyst, she gets the benefit of instant replay and multiple camera angles, giving her the ability to break down everything on the floor.
However, she has also excelled with the "non-basketball" parts of her new job. Boston has already been given interview assignments, including one with presumed #1-overall WNBA Draft pick Caitlin Clark (Boston's Indiana Fever team holds the top pick, meaning Clark likely will become her teammate next season).
Moving forward, basketball fans hope that Aliyah Boston continues working as an analyst during her WNBA offseasons. The only real criticism she has received came from right before she started working Big 10 games.
When invited into the broadcast booth for South Carolina basketball's home opener against Maryland, Boston couldn't help but cheer on her former team with infectious enthusiasm.
For the critics, have no fear: because the Gamecocks don't play in the Big 10, Boston's pro-Gamecock bias won't come into play in her analysis.
Already a star as a player, Aliyah Boston is quickly becoming one as an analyst, and South Carolina basketball fans and women's basketball fans all around the country are looking forward to watching her anytime she is on their television screens.