Aliyah Boston shares 4-word message for former teammate as she hits the lab with Skylar Diggins-Smith

Before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever, Aliyah Boston spent her college career at South Carolina. As she prepares for her third year in the pros, the two-time All-Star sent some words of encouragement to one of her former teammates.

Under legendary head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina has produced countless WNBA talents. Among the vast group is Zia Cooke, who was drafted 10th overall by the LA Sparks back in 2023.

Cooke was waived by the Sparks back in February but quickly landed on her feet with the Seattle Storm. As she gears up for this new chapter in her career, she was recently seen working on her game with All-Star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith.

After the Storm posted a video of Cooke and Diggins-Smith training, Aliyah Boston re-shared it on her Instagram story. She put a small caption with it, showing support for her former teammate Cooke as she embarks on this new journey.

"It's your turn now," Boston wrote.

@aliyah.boston on Instagram

Before being waived by the Sparks, Cooke appeared in 68 games for them across two seasons. In that time, she averaged 4.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists. She'll now attempt to carve out a role for herself on the Storm in hopes of finding a long-term home in the WNBA.

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Aliyah Boston offered words of encouragement to South Carolina guard amid NCAA Tournament run

Years removed from her time at South Carolina, Aliyah Boston still has ties to the program. As they continue another push for a national title, one member of the team shared a conversation she had with the Indiana Fever forward.

Over the weekend, South Carolina found themselves in a competitive Elite 8 matchup against Duke. They managed to just barely hold on, punching their ticket for the Final Four with a 54-50 victory.

While speaking with reporters after the game, South Carolina guard Bree Hall gave a shout-out to Boston. She spoke a little bit about the piece of advice she gave her ahead of the matchup with Duke.

"I have to give a shout out to Aliyah Boston," Hall said. "Aliyah, I love you girl, you are amazing, thank you so much for helping me."

"She was telling me to just go out there and play free. Let God take control of everything that's going on, don't stress about any mistakes."

Hall, who is currently in her senior year at South Carolina, briefly played alongside Boston during her time there. The two had a lot of success together, most notably winning a national championship in 2022.

Following their win over Duke, South Carolina advances to take on No. 1 seed Texas to try and punch their ticket to the championship game.