{"id":405287,"date":"2026-01-12T20:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/405287\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T20:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:56:08","slug":"wnba-star-aja-wilson-gives-back-to-dads-hbcu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/405287\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA star A’Ja Wilson gives back to dad’s HBCU"},"content":{"rendered":"

WNBA star A\u2019ja Wilson is once again honoring her HBCU roots. The Las Vegas Aces superstar donated her Nike A\u2019One signature sneakers to the Benedict College women\u2019s basketball program.<\/p>\n

The Benedict College Women\u2019s Basketball team publicly thanked\u00a0A\u2019ja Wilson. The moment was both a gift and a powerful symbol of legacy. Wilson, a multi-time MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, TIME Magazine\u2019s 2025 Athlete of the Year, and perennial WNBA All-Star, continues to use her platform to uplift programs connected to her roots.<\/p>\n

\"Aja<\/p>\n

WNBA stars connection to the HBCU <\/p>\n

While Wilson did not attend an\u00a0HBCU, her connection to\u00a0Benedict College\u00a0runs deep. <\/a>Her father, Roscoe Wilson Jr., starred for the Tigers in the early 1970s and was one of the most dominant big men in the SIAC and NAIA. He ranked among the nation\u2019s top rebounders, earned multiple all-conference and all-NAIA honors, and later became a Small College All-American.<\/p>\n

Roscoe Wilson\u2019s basketball journey extended beyond Benedict. He played in the famed Rucker Park League in New York alongside legends such as Julius \u201cDr. J\u201d Erving and Nate \u201cTiny\u201d Archibald, then went on to a professional overseas career. He later returned to the HBCU ranks as a head coach at both Benedict and Morris College, continuing the cycle of mentorship and leadership.<\/p>\n

A\u2019ja Wilson carved her own historic path. After a dominant high school career at Heathwood Hall Episcopal, she committed to\u00a0Dawn Staley\u00a0and the\u00a0South Carolina Gamecocks, becoming one of the most decorated players in college basketball history before ascending to superstardom in the\u00a0WNBA.<\/p>\n

Fifty years after her father\u2019s rise began at Benedict, Wilson\u2019s gesture reflects more than generosity. It reinforces how excellence, legacy, and HBCU culture remain deeply connected across generations.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WNBA star A\u2019ja Wilson is once again honoring her HBCU roots. The Las Vegas Aces superstar donated her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[4662,170827,49,48,60,170828,170829,82,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-405287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-aja-wilson","9":"tag-benedict-college","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-hbcu-sports","14":"tag-siac","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}