Arizona guard Aari McDonald has been named a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given annually to the nation's top shooting guard.
McDonald averages 20.6 points per game, tops in the Pac-12 Conference, and dishes an average of 2.3 steals per game. She has scored in double digits in 66 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation.
McDonald was named to the All-Pac-12 team a week ago, then sizzled in the Pac-12 Tournament. She scored 34 points against Oregon in Saturday's conference semifinal, then — in a moment played over and over on Pac-12 Networks — got engaged. Devon Brewer, McDonald's longtime boyfriend and a former UA football player, got down on one knee shortly after the Wildcats lost to the Ducks.
“I was so shocked,” McDonald said. “I was looking and was like ‘What does that say?’ And I saw him get on his knee and I was like ‘Oh my god.’ It’s crazy," she said. "I should have put everything together because the last couple of months he’s really been talking about it. I am just shocked because my parents, my siblings and him – even my teammates plotted against me. I’m just happy.”
Pac-12 Networks analyst Kelsey Plum, McDonald's former teammate at Washington, called it "a pretty special moment for her."
“Like they said, ‘she's the real MVP tonight.’ You know, it puts everything else in perspective," she said. "So that's cool.”
McDonald is also a finalist for the Wooden Award, given annually to the nation's top player, and a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award. With McDonald leading the way, Arizona os 24-7, ranked No. 13 nationally and on the verge of making the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will find out Monday whether they'll host the first and second rounds of the tournament in McKale Center.
