Next WNBA Player Inspires Young Female Athletes

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Bishop Kearney High School senior Ly’Asia Wilson’s day has always been about basketball.

“(It’s) a little chaotic,” Wilson laughed.

Growing up on the court with her basketball family, she always had her eyes on the prize.

“I aspire to be able to, you know, just be able to go to the league or play overseas, which I have no problem doing,” Wilson said.

The high school student is 5’4″.

“He’s my brother. I don’t know why he’s all the height. He’s like, all the height. He’s about six feet, I think, six feet, six feet one? And I’m stuck here at five three, five, four,” she said.

However, just like her role model, her size never seemed to stop her.

“Of course I was. Of course I was. I was watching it. You should have seen me. She was chosen,” Wilson laughed.

Dyaisha Fair is an alumna of Rochester Edison Career and Technology High School. From there, she played Division 1 basketball for the University at Buffalo as well as Syracuse University. Her most recent accomplishment was being drafted to play in the National Women’s Basketball League for the Las Vegas Aces. Fair is 5’5″.

“My God, I was so happy for her. You know, especially coming from Rochester. You don’t see a lot of people like that coming out of Rochester, you know, going to big stages like that. So it was really huge, I was super excited for her, I was really, really happy to see that success,” Wilson explained. “I don’t even know. It was just like, it was just a bunch of emotions, you know, just watching, but like my first thought was like, she did it. And I don’t know, It was just an incredible feeling.”

His entire family joined him to watch the WNBA draft, making it a family bonding event. Wilson’s father took her to her first game to see fair play when she was just in high school.

“He said to me, ‘yo, like he’s a beast.’ So we’ve been doing it since high school, you know? And I’m pretty sure she let everyone here in the neighborhood know, you know she was like that, so you had to respect her. “I always looked up to him like I started my basketball career,” Wilson said. “My dad was very happy. My mom was very proud of herself for being able to see that. And you know, it was just for us to see that, you know, it was just an extremely proud moment. She was happy. My my dad was family. My whole family watched the draft with me just to see her get drafted so it was a big deal and we were really proud of her to see her achieve her dreams.

Since being in the stands, Wilson has had the chance to train under the same coach as Fair, while being challenged on the field by her. Her coach, Jamar Gray, says the two female athletes play very similar.

“It motivates me. The next day I came to the gym and I was like, I was super happy to get into the gym. But it motivates me, especially you know, similar situations. We’re short, a lot “People underestimate that,” Wilson said.

Being from Rochester, she was able to watch her idol overcome all the obstacles thrown at him throughout high school and beyond.

“It really shows his focus and determination. You don’t let the outside things that are happening around you, you don’t let that get to your circle. You don’t let that get to your mind. You know, you stay .” focused on yourself because, you know, you have dreams and aspirations. It just shows how focused and determined she was to get to where she is now,” Wilson said.

These are lessons Wilson learned from, as she too had to overcome obstacles to achieve her goals.

“I had a huge setback. I tore my ACL, you know, it was huge. A major setback for me physically and mentally. But you know, with the circle that I have now, you know, that helps me get here, you I know, being able to inspire kids younger than me and being able to go to college,” she explained. “My recruiting process has been a blessing. First of all, if I could describe it one way or another, it’s been a huge blessing. It’s been a big deal for me to be able to have this opportunity, especially after tearing my ACL. Some people give up. It’s a lot, mentally. It still takes a toll on you mentally. And that was about two years ago for me, but mentally it’s a long process, so. being happy to have this opportunity is great.”

Since then, she has received six scholarship offers. She hopes for big things, just like her role model.

Fair was recently honored by Rochester Mayor Malik Evans for being a role model for the city’s residents. He even challenged her in the jump-off.

“It feels good to know, to know that, you know, I’m a role model. I’m someone that everyone here can count on or look to see that she was able to do it, so me too .And I think when you have doubts or when people have doubts of not knowing what the next step is for you and you keep your faith, or you continue to believe, you, that’s something. which you know can take you a long way in life,” Fair said.

And yet, Wilson keeps his eyes on the prize.

“It just takes a lot of hard work. It comes from a lot of sacrifice and it comes with confidence. You have to have heart. You have to be able to do that, and with that comes a lot of distractions, which, you know, you have to make sure that you stay focused. You have to make sure that you stay determined, on top of your stuff and not only that, it’s also academically so it’s very important. grades are important and being able to manage your stuff and your books and being able to come here and work, there’s a lot that goes into it,” Wilson said.