Adia Barnes sent out an email in September looking for walk-ons.
For the Arizona Wildcats’ second-year coach, the move was as unorthodox as it was necessary. The UA had lost five players from last year’s team, had a short bench and — frankly — needed bodies for both practice and games.
Lindsey Malecha had been waiting for that email invitation for three-plus years.
“I was lucky they decided to keep me,” said Malecha, whose Wildcats face New Mexico State at 11 a.m. Thursday.
“At first I was like a deer in headlights … this is actually happening. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole day. I worked so hard for it and I was extremely excited.
“It’s cool to be around the coaches, they are all so basketball smart. And Coach Adia played in the WNBA. They all know the game extremely well — you can have good skills, but if you don’t understand when to take a shot with what the defense is giving you … well, having that influence from them is really helpful. ”
Malecha was a three-time first-team all-conference guard at Maplewood, Minnesota’s Hill-Murray High School. In her senior year she was All-State Class AAA, Metro East Conference Player of the Year, and was up for Minnesota Ms. Basketball. She averaged 22 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
She had the grades, basketball skills and reputation to play at the next level. Colorado, Iowa, Princeton, Penn, Yale and North Dakota State recruited her.
An injury scuttled her college plans. Just two days after the Pioneers won the sectional championship, Malecha hurt her knee in practice. The next day, an MRI revealed she had a complete tear in her right ACL, and partial tears in her MCL and meniscus in the same knee.
“It was one of the hardest times in my life,” Malecha said. “Basketball was my life, besides school. This took away any chance I had at college basketball.”
None of the college coaches who were recruiting her were willing to keep a roster spot open, so Malecha revised her plan. She would now pick a school she liked and work her butt off to make the team.
Her older brother, Blake, steered her attention toward the UA. He was a walk-on tight end at Ohio State and knew the drill.
The UA was the perfect fit for Malecha for a few reasons. She has an aunt and uncle living in Phoenix. Malecha wants to be surgeon — she took the MCATs last summer — and the UA has a good pre-med program.
Malecha underwent knee surgery in May 2015, and started eight months of rehab. Three months later, she was taking little jumps and began running a month after that.
By December of 2015, she was cleared to play basketball again. But she wasn’t a college player — yet.
Malecha contacted former UA coach Niya Butts to start building relationships and watch practices. She knew she still had to put in the work to be in basketball shape to play Division I basketball.
Butts referred her to Jamaal Rhodes, a private basketball coach who played at Southern Illinois with professional stops in the NBA, the G League and overseas. Through Rhodes she met Craig Smith, a physical therapist, and spent all her free time training.
“Jamaal got me back to basketball,” she said. “In that first semester, I worked four times a week with Jamaal, and on the weekends in a group session and once a week with Craig. Craig focused on the mechanics on how to move. He found my weakness; when I ran my knees came in. So we fixed the cause of my ACL tear, which helped my knee get better.”
Butts was not retained in the spring of Malecha’s freshman year, and Barnes took over the program. Malecha befriended her, too, while she kept training and watching practices.
Malecha lifted weights twice a week to get stronger. She’s the first to admit that she’s still getting into basketball shape.
“That first practice was really hard; it’s a completely different level of hard,” Malecha said. “It motivated me and I wasn’t worried that I couldn’t get to that level. I want to be someone they can rely on, that’s why I am working out extra with my coaches. Because as the season goes on if they need me, I want to go in and have a good output.”
Slowly, she is earning time on the court.
“She is a great addition to the team,” Barnes said. “She is extremely gracious and appreciative of everything. She gives 110 percent to every single thing she does. I never question her motivation. She is a delightful player to be around and works her butt off.”
Working hard seems to be what Malecha knows best.
“For me, the fact that I put in all this work and it’s come to fruition is what it’s all about,” she said. “Sometimes life isn’t fair, but the fact that I’m here is cool. I was waiting so long. I thought my career wasn’t ending on my terms. Now it gets to be on my terms. And saying I play D-I basketball is pretty cool.”
