“Love you AB!!!”: 3x champ Dawn Staley raves about WNBA star Aliyah Boston’s latest hairdo

Dawn Staley had a special visit from her former Gamecocks player, Aliyah Boston. The forward was in Columbia, South Carolina, on a day trip and dropped by the Colonial Life Arena.

Dawn Staley shared their selfie on Instagram and gave a special shout-out to Boston's hair. Giving a break to her usual long tresses, the Indiana forward cut her braids short and added pink highlights.

"Guess who came into town to surprise us…..the one, the only, thee @aliyah.boston…..got to the see the peekaboo pink braids…..they’re even cuter in person!! Love you AB!!!"

Aliyah Boston also reacted to the post as she wrote in the comments:

"My favsss (hand heart emoji) miss you coach."

Aliyah Boston's comment on Dawn Staley's post (Credits: Instagram/@staley05)

Aliyah Boston spent four years with the South Carolina Gamecocks and averaged 14.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.4 blocks. Boston's best performance was in her junior year when she averaged 16.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.4 blocks. She won the NCAA championship the same year.

The forward and the Gamecocks came close to repeating the title win in her senior season but lost to Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes in the Final Four. In the 2023 WNBA draft, Aliyah Boston was picked No. 1 by the Indiana Fever, where she is now teammates with Clark.

After winning the Rookie of the Year award last season, the forward is enjoying an even better second year in the WNBA, averaging 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

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Dawn Staley dedicated South Carolina's 2024 NCAA title to Aliyah Boston

Aliyah Boston was ESPN's special commentator for the 2024 March Madness. After South Carolina's Final Four win over NC State, Boston interviewed Dawn Staley when the coach dedicated the win and the upcoming title to her.

“This is the place we wanted to be,” Staley said. “We want to do it for you. We really want to take care of Sunday for you and the Freshies because you gave basketball everything you had. And you came up short your senior year. So hopefully, we can turn the tables and win it for you."

And despite it being more than a year since Boston left her care, Dawn Staley's protectiveness over her former players has not decreased. During a game against the Connecticut Sun in May, Aliyah Boston missed a late game shot, leading to Fever's loss.

A deluge of negativity followed the forward on social media, even causing her to briefly delete her account. Coach Staley was quick to defend her former player on X as she tweeted that regardless of the result, she would have still given Boston the ball.