COLUMBIA — Jerzy Robinson hasn’t started college but it hasn’t stopped her from helping to celebrate South Carolina women’s basketball’s most iconic player, A’ja Wilson.
The 6-foot-4 center played for coach Dawn Staley from 2014-18 before becoming the WNBA’s first four-time MVP. Her second wave of her new Nike signature shoes release was May 2. Foot Locker hosted an event in Wilson’s home city to launch the “A’Twos” and Robinson, an incoming freshman and the No. 6 recruit in the Class of 2026, was a special guest.
Wilson has played in Las Vegas since the Aces selected her with the first overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. She’s often celebrated in her hometown even if she can’t be there in person.
Her father, Roscoe, however was in attendance and is impressed with Staley’s new 6-foot guard.
“She has size, she can guard a three, a two, or a one so I think it’s a brilliant addition,” Roscoe Wilson said of Robinson. “And her shooting mobility, it’s a piece of cake.”
Jerzy Robinson talks about South Carolina
Robinson grew up in Phoenix before moving to Los Angeles to take advantage of NIL opportunities in high school in California because NIL wasn’t yet legal for high school athletes in Arizona. She went to Sierra Canyon and in three seasons became the school’s all-time leading scorer.
In 2024, Robinson signed her own NIL deal with Nike.
“I mean Columbia has a huge basketball community which is amazing,” Robinson told the crowd. “I will be West Coast kid till I die so coming to the East Coast is gonna be new (but) is gonna be really fun for me. Also playing under Coach Dawn I think there’s so much that you’ll learn from her off the court, on the court, in life, especially as a Black woman, taking over the women’s basketball game, but just society as a whole, and then playing with my teammates wearing the garnet and black and representing playing for some bigger than myself.”
Robinson said she first heard from Staley when she was just 14 but couldn’t quite grasp what that meant at the time.
“But fast forward to today I chose to come be a part of the program, which is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Robinson said.
South Carolina is switching from Under Armour to Nike as its official uniform supplier for the university starting July 1. A unique part of the new contract is an A’ja Wilson clause, which states that the Gamecocks will get “A’Twos” and other perks related to Wilson’s relationship with Nike.
“I’m super excited to be a part of the women’s game right now. I think she’s at the head, the front of it, she’s pioneering a great way for us,” Robinson said of Wilson.
Wilson was inducted to the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame the same weekend Robinson took her official visit.
“The people of Columbia, they just showed love,” Robinson said. “A’ja was on my visit with me, and it was genuine. It was a genuine love that I felt the moment I sat on campus.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
