A’ja to Asia: Former Gamecock great signs deal to play overseas

For the first time in years, South Carolina women’s basketball fans will have to travel a very long way this winter if they want to see A’ja Wilson on the court.

Wilson has signed a deal to play overseas with the Chinese team Shanxi Flame during the WNBA offseason, her spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

A WNBA All-Star and frontrunner for Rookie of the Year with the Las Vegas Aces, Wilson will follow the route of many women’s basketball players and go abroad, where many players earn far higher salaries than they do in the U.S. Shanxi has experience hiring famous American players — the team has also signed WNBA MVP Maya Moore in years past. Moore’s salary with the Flame was reported to be at least $400,000.

Another USC alum, Allisha Gray, will also be going overseas for the first time after the WNBA season after returning to South Carolina last offseason to complete her degree. Gray, the 2017 Rookie of the Year and a starter for the Dallas Wings, will play in Israel, her spokesperson said.

Other former Gamecocks have also played in Europe — Tiffany Mitchell, who also plays for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, spent time in Russia, Alaina Coates, a rookie for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, played in Hungary, Kaela Davis, a teammate of Gray’s on the Wings, starred in Turkey, and Ashley Bruner plays in France, among others.

In the meantime, Wilson, Gray, Mitchell, Coates and Davis still have at least a few more weeks of play in the WNBA before the postseason, and Wilson, Gray and Mitchell will then all return to Columbia in early September as part of the U.S. national team pool, in hopes of being named to the 12-woman roster for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup at the end of the month.

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 1:11 PM with the headline "A’ja to Asia: Former Gamecock great signs deal to play overseas."