Aari McDonald waited for the right decision to come to her. She didn’t rush it.
As she sat resting the stress fracture to her left fibula, McDonald weighed her options — turning pro or returning to the UA for another year — and picked what was best for her in this time of uncertainty.
She decided that the WNBA could wait another year.
“It was really hard to narrow down my decision,” McDonald said. “It was a hard decision. My heart was really set to leave — to declare. I had to sit back and be real to myself and just be like, ‘Hey, you know, you don’t know what can happen — everything’s all in the air with the pandemic going on.’ I was just telling myself and telling my parents, this is probably the most real situation.
“It wouldn’t hurt to go back polish my game and most importantly get a master’s (degree). Going back seemed like a smart decision.
“With uncertainty in the air and just looking to see who’s coming in at Arizona — that definitely changed my mind. We have almost everyone coming back next year. And getting my master’s that definitely is the icing on the cake.”
Another factor was how the season ended — not on the court in an NCAA Tournament game, but completely canceled because of the coronavirus.
“It didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth. I really was hoping to take this program back to the tournament and do some special things,” she said. “I’m also happy to make new memories and just make history with the team we have for this year.”
McDonald will try to improve on a junior season in which averaged 20.6 points and 2.3 steals per game.
On Monday, she won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given to the nation’s top shooting guard. She was also named the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year, was a member of the all-conference team and was named to three All-America teams.
McDonald said winning the national award was “crazy,” especially given what the trailblazing Drysdale represented.
“It feels good, finally getting recognized,” she said.
The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is part of the Naismith’s Starting Five, a series of national awards given out to the best players at each position. Oregon players earned three of them — Sabrina Ionescu was named the best point guard, while Satou Sabally earned the small-forward award and Ruthy Hebard was named the top power forward.
That is the type of award that helps put a player and a program on the map.
“This is a very, very prestigious award,” Pac-12 Networks analyst and former Arizona coach Joan Bonvicini said. “Ann was a fantastic player and a fantastic person and an advocate for basketball. … She won a national championship and played on the Olympic team. It is a terrific honor for Aari to be recognized for her ability and recognized for what she’s brought to the game. To be talked about in that conversation for Aari, she is the elite of the elites.
“For the program, it’s tremendous. It brings Arizona a lot of attention. It shows the program has to be good and the team has to be good. It shows that Adia (Barnes) and her staff are bringing in talent and developing players.”
In a video presenting the award to McDonald, Drysdale praised McDonald’s passion on both ends of the court.
“I had goosebumps and for her to close out and say, ‘You know I’ve been watching your growth.’ It’s like, ‘Dang, you’ve been watching me?” McDonald said. “It definitely felt good to hear her talking good about my game and I can’t wait to expand on my game so I can come back much better.”
And what will that expanded game look like?
McDonald said she wasn’t happy with her turnovers last season and that she needs to keep working on her shot.
Rim shots
- Winning the national award makes McDonald eligible to join McKale Center’s Ring of Honor alongside the best players in program history.
McDonald said joining the Ring of Honor was a secret goal of hers.
“I told my dad right when I transferred to Arizona and we walked past the locker room to see the facility and just seemed to read a lot of names in McKale (Center). I told my dad, ‘I want to be on this wall; I want to have a banner on the Ring of Honor,’” she said. “My dad was like, ‘You keep playing your game, getting better, I think that you’ll make it.’ It’s just crazy … to think about me besides other legendary players. It’s good to think about that. I hope it happens when I’m done playing at Arizona.”
Reserve forward Birna Benonysdottir entered the transfer portal Wednesday. The freshman from Iceland is the second player to leave the UA program in the last few weeks, joining sophomore guard Bryce Nixon. Benonysdottir saw action in 10 games, playing 44 minutes.
- McDonald and Barnes will be on Instagram at 5 p.m. Sunday for something they’re calling “Sunday Night Live.” Fans can follow along at @AdiaB32 and @ArizonaWBB.
