Piedmont’s Najya Wilson

By Ivy Knapp

Piedmont sophomore Najya Wilson has grown a lot through basketball, and she’s thankful how the sport has shaped her. That leadership shows in how she carries herself, both in school and with her team.                                                                     

“Basketball has shaped me to be the person I am today because it’s helped me become a leader on and off the court,” she said.

She doesn’t hide the tough parts of being a student-athlete. It can be a challenge staying on top of things she needs to get done. It’s a choice she has to make every day, and she’s learned to push herself through it. Even with a busy schedule, she finds her strengths in the classroom. Math comes easiest, and she’s proud of maintaining a 4.0 GPA.           

“It can be hard not laying down but doing my homework or getting extra shooting in, Najya said. 

On the court, she knows where she excels and where she’s still building. The weakest part of her game right now is shooting 3s, something she’s been working on with extra practice. If she could replay one game, she’d go back to their matchup against PCO because she felt like the whole team could’ve played better. That honesty shows how high her expectations are for herself and the people around her.

When things don’t go her way, she leans on her faith. 

“I stay positive by reading my Bible or a scripture,” she says it’s something that helps her reset and stay centered. Practice is one of the places she feels herself improving the most. She loves when they scrimmage or work on areas that need practice, and her coaches often praise her for her defense and her scoring.

She also pays attention to taking care of her body, trying to stay healthy through the season by eating a good breakfast like fruit, having something with protein for dinner, and drinking plenty of water or Gatorade. While people may see the highlights, she wishes more understood how much effort and energy goes into balancing school and sports.

After late games, she motivates herself to stay on top of school by finishing work beforehand when she can, but if not, she’ll do it while eating dinner afterward.

Success to Najya is pretty sincere. In basketball, it means doing what she must do to win. In school, it means keeping her grades up. When graduation comes, she already knows her next step. She wants to go to college to play basketball and enter the medical field. Najya works hard, stays grounded, and keeps pushing forward on and off the court.