Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson has arguably become the best player in the WNBA. She is the reigning MVP and is once again one of the favorites to earn the league's top award. She is the face of the Aces franchise and she recently went off against the Atlanta Dream for a career-high 53 points. She tied Liz Cambage for most points in a single WNBA game. But the blueprint for Wilson's rise to prominence was established while she was playing college basketball at South Carolina for Dawn Staley. On a recent appearance on the Knuckleheads Podcast hosted by former NBA players Darius Miles and Quenton Richardson, Wilson spoke about how impactful Staley's influence has been on her basketball career.

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“She is someone that, if I wasn't doing well in school, if I would have boy trouble, anything, I was in her office and we were just having a conversation,” Wilson said. “Coach Staley would kick me out of practice cause she would say I'm being average. . .that's when she was like, ‘you should never blend in, I see you blending in.'”

A'ja Wilson went on to say that Dawn Staley pushed her to not settle for simply blending in with her teammates. Staley recognized the greatness inside her and pushed her to realize her potential.

“She was just real and didn't sugarcoat nothing, so I could really appreciate that,” Wilson said.

It seems like it worked as Wilson is coming off her first WNBA championship and she has the Aces as the overwhelming favorite to win back-t0-back titles.