The historic season keeps rolling for Arizona — and for Aari McDonald.
McDonald was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the year on Tuesday, when the conference announced its annual awards.
McDonald is the second Wildcat in history to win the award, joining Ify Ibekwe (2011). Ibekwe is one of only five players in the UA’s Ring of Honor.
“It’s a blessing,” McDonald said Tuesday. “It speaks as a testimony to me. (Ibekwe) had to be good if she’s in the Ring of Honor and defensive player of the year. It just feels good. But at the same time, I’ve been doing this since I’ve been playing basketball — just locking up. And that’s something I take pride in. I’m definitely happy that my defensive skills have that recognition.”
McDonald also was named to the 15-player All-Pac-12 team, where she was joined by teammate Cate Reese. Sam Thomas was named to the five-player all-defensive team and was named honorable mention All-Pac-12. Helena Pueyo picked up honorable mention for the freshman team.
McDonald also learned on Tuesday that she is a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award. The dynamic player is tops in the league in steals (67), steals per game (2.5) and points per game (20.3). McDonald has scored in double figures in her last 64 games, the longest active streak in the country.
With McDonald leading the way, Arizona has earned a first-round bye in this week’s Pac-12 Tournament. Fourth-seeded Arizona will play at 12:30 p.m. Friday against either 12th-seeded Cal or fifth-seeded Arizona State. The winner will play No. 1 Oregon, No. 8 Utah or No. 9 Washington in Saturday’s semifinals.
Aari McDonald was tops in the Pac-12 in steals, steals per game and points per game. After winning the defensive player of the year award, she said, “I’m definitely happy that my defensive skills have that recognition.”
“One of the things I love most is that Aari is a dynamic scorer. Everyone always talks about her offense, especially last year, top three in the country,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “But now to be all-defensive team and player of the year defensively in the best conference in the country, it says a lot about her and the work she’s putting in, because she’s really evolved as a player on both ends.”
Reese, a sophomore forward, is averaging 13.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. She has eight double-doubles this season, and 15 in her career. She is a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award, which is given annually to the best power forward in the country.
Thomas, a junior forward, is the only player in the league with more than 40 steals and 40 blocks this season. During Pac-12 play, Thomas averaged a league-best 1.94 blocks per game. She is the only player in Arizona history with 100 blocks (135) and 100 3-pointers (129). She is second to Oregon’s Ruthy Hebard in career blocks.
Pueyo, one of the first Wildcats off the bench, is shooting 37% from beyond the arc in 21 minutes per game.
All awards were voted on by Pac-12 coaches.
Graves is coach of the year
One name that seemed to be missing from the accolades was that of Barnes, who was thought by many — especially those in Tucson — as a sure-fire Pac-12 coach of the year selection.
However, her peers gave it to Kelly Graves, the coach of third-ranked Oregon.
Barnes’ Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the conference, but have exceeded outside expectations. Arizona finished 23-6 overall and 12-6 in Pac-12 play, notching wins over No. 22 Texas, No. 16 Arizona State, No. 8 UCLA and — most recently — No. 4 Stanford.
“What she has done for this program — when she played and now — it’s just crazy,” McDonald said earlier. “She’s been nominated for the Naismith Award (for coach of the year), so hopefully she gets that one.”
Rim shots
- McDonald said Tuesday she does not know if she will return for one more season or enter the WNBA draft in April. McDonald will make a decision sometime after the Wildcats have stopped playing in the postseason.
“I’ve got to weigh my pros and cons,” she said, “but right now I’m just focused on the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.”
McDonald, who is graduating in May, took part in Senior Day festivities Sunday. She has one year of eligibility left.
Arizona drew 95,098 fans during the regular season. The average McKale Center crowd of 5,994 ranked second in the Pac-12 behind Oregon, which averaged 10,582 fans per game. The Wildcats drew more than Oregon State (5,902). Arizona averaged 3,675 fans last year; two years ago, it was 1,933.
