MaxPreps 2013-14 National Girls Basketball Player of the Year: A'ja Wilson

The numbers scream: 34.4 points a game, 13.9 rebounds a game, 5.0 blocks a game, 3.0 steals a game, 68 percent shooting.

But 6-foot-4 A'ja Wilson, the 2013-14 MaxPreps National Girls Basketball Player of the Year, is more than just a stat machine who relies on size to succeed. Wilson, as those who have played against and with her on the AAU circuit and with USA Basketball know, combines guard skills with size and athleticism to make up the most sought-after recruit in the nation. The McDonald's All-American from South Carolina Independent School Association state champion Heathwood Hall Episcopal (Columbia, S.C.) will bring a unique package of abilities to the college game.

Adding to how much fervor surrounded her recruitment, Wilson chose not to reveal her college commitment until Wednesday. Unlike most high school players, she didn't sign early, and that left plenty of speculation surrounding her final four: UConn, North Carolina, South Carolina or Tennessee.

So why did she wait to sign with South Carolina?

"Going into the recruiting process," Wilson said. "I had a plan. I told coaches I wanted a state championship and that would be my focus. The coaches respected that, and they weren't always on the phone. I really didn't think about recruiting; it was the last thing on my mind."

And Wilson didn't want to end her five-year career at the small school (she played varsity as an eighth-grader) without winning a championship.

"I've been at Heathwood since first grade. It's a community feeling — Heathwood is family. I love it.

"It meant so much to me. It was everything to me. The least I could do was bring them back a trophy. And we needed to get it for coach (John) O'Cain."

During her televised news conference Wednesday she paid homage to her new coach, Dawn Staley.

"Coach Staley is really starting something great and I want to be a part of it," Wilson said. "There's just no place like home, there really isn't"

Raising the stakes at Heathwood was the shape of the roster, which included six other seniors who had been with Wilson throughout her career. But then, after rolling through the season with losses only to South Carolina big school power Dreher, nationally ranked New Hope Christian Academy of North Carolina (twice) and West Virginia state champion St. Mary's, the march to that elusive title took a detour.

After leading Northwood by 12 at half in the title game, Northwood started raining in long 3-pointers, and Heathwood fell behind in the fourth quarter. Wilson began to have doubts if her team could come back.

"I looked at my hands," she said, "because I could see this slipping through my hands."

Down three with time running out in regulation, Wilson looked over to her coach, who told her to shoot a 3, even though Wilson had made only four all year.

"I think it was like NBA distance," she recalled.

In storybook fashion, it went through the net, forced overtime, and Heathwood Hall took over to win by eight.

"I'm so glad we finally got it," she said, the relief in her voice still evident.

Being the star, though, isn't as easy as it might appear from the outside, even when those dramatic 3-pointers send the crowd into a frenzy.

"It's kind of tough," Wilson said. "Everyone has their eye on you. I'm supposed to make miracles happen, but I make mistakes. It gets hard — people want that 60-point game every game."

Of course, Wilson's talents are such that high expectations are hard to avoid. Her father, Roscoe, is 6-8 and played in Sweden for 10 years, and worked on his daughter's all-around game from an early age. What helped, ironically, is that Wilson didn't have a size advantage growing up.

"I didn't hit my growth spurt until the summer before my freshman year," she said. "I had been a guard and my dad trained me on guard moves."

Now, at a long 6-4, Wilson can handle, pass and defend in space as well as go inside, but she's not a specialist.

"I would just like to play the game of basketball," she said. "In college, I would like to play the three; if I play the four, that's fine too.

"I just like to win."

That bottom-line statement, plus Wilson's talent and focus on her high school season, is music to the ears of college coaches — and just one more reason she's our MaxPreps 2014 National Player of the Year.