Aari McDonald is in the midst of making one of the biggest decisions of her life — whether to forgo her senior season and declare for the WNBA draft or play one more year for the Arizona Wildcats.
Despite the ticking clock — she needs to declare for the draft by April 7 — the UA’s star guard isn’t rushing. McDonald is treating the big decision like a late-game shot, waiting until she’s ready to strike.
“Just what benefits me the most — I’m weighing out all scenarios, I’m putting it all out and I’ve been talking to my parents,” McDonald said by video chat from her parents’ home in Fresno, California. “What situation fits me best? And who will push me to my limits? Who will I be surrounded by? Stuff like that. Putting everything into perspective. … I’m just trying to stay levelheaded and try to make the best decision for me.”
At the same time, McDonald admits she has “unfinished business with the way the season ended.”
Arizona Wildcats junior guard Aari McDonald (2) warms-up before Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball 74-42 win over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks at McKale Center 1721 E Enke Dr, Tucson, Ariz., on October 2nd, 2019.
Arizona’s historic season came to an abrupt end earlier this month, when the NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus. The Wildcats were on the cusp of not only making the NCAA Tournament but hosting the first two rounds when the decision was made.
McDonald said she was “caught in disbelief” when she heard the news. McDonald suffered a stress fracture in her left fibula late in the regular season, causing her to miss games at Utah and Colorado. She returned, hobbled, to lead the Wildcats to an upset win over No. 4 Stanford in McKale Center and a Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals victory over Cal.
The cancellation “was a gift and a curse,” she said. “I was happy to rest my left (leg) — this is the most rest I’ve had in a while. And then secondly, I was sad because I don’t want the season to end so I know that we want to do something crazy this year. I was happy and sad at the same time.”
McDonald said doctors can’t point to a single moment that caused the stress fracture, saying it was something that happened over time. She worked with the UA’s medical staff and Barnes so she could finish out the season.
McDonald said the injury, the first serious one of her career, changed everything about her routine, from practice to her eating habits.
“It was really hard,” she said, “and I just tried to take it out and just try to make an impact.”
In her first game back against Stanford, she did just that, scoring 20 points and hitting the game-winner in overtime.
At the time, McDonald said her last shot was “gutsy.” She was wearing a heavy brace on her leg and clearly wasn’t at full-strength, grimacing every time she ran down the court in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Aari McDonald
“I wanted to set myself apart that game,” she said. “I did what I could to get my team a victory even not being 100%.
“During the game (my leg) was fine, my adrenaline was going. But once I stopped? ‘Ahh,’ it kind of hurt. I just had to get through it. I mean, I hate sitting out. I want to win and I just had to sacrifice — I wanted to win or at least get my team close to getting a ‘W,’ so I mean, I just had to bear and grin, honestly.”
Now that the season is over, McDonald is staying off her leg as much as she can. Doctors prescribed four to eight weeks of rest.
“I like it, but at the same time I’m bored and running out of things to do,” she said. “We’ve been playing the Wii, we’ve been playing Uno, Yahtzee and other board games.”
She’s also been watching the national accolades roll in. The Associated Press and U.S. Basketball Writers Association both named her a second-team All-American. McDonald is also a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, the Ann Meyers Drysdale award (best shooting guard) and both the Wooden Award and Wade Trophy, given to the best player in the country.
McDonald said that while she’s “blessed” to get this recognition, it’s also “about time” that the rest of the country recognize what those in Tucson have known for a long time: that she’s an elite player.
“I knew that it was just a matter of time,” she said. “We did really well this year; we just keep getting better. All my hard work is paying off. It feels good to be recognized with a couple of the other best players in the country — it’s so good to be recognized by the committee. … We couldn’t have done this without our coaches and teammates.”
And, McDonald says, the fans.
“They really showed up this year and they are always so faithful and loyal,” she said. “They always stick with us no matter what. They are always behind us. We appreciate that.”
Rim shots
- Starting Monday, 1290-AM is rebroadcasting three of the biggest games in recent UA history. The 2019 WNIT championship game will air Monday at 6 p.m. The UA men’s team’s 1997 Final Four game against North Carolina will air Friday at 6 p.m., with the 1997 NCAA title game set to air April 6 at 6 p.m.
- Pac-12’s Networks asked fans to vote on the UA’s best sports moment of the season, and they picked the Wildcats’ win over Stanford. The other three top moments were UA softball player Jessie Harper’s home runs against Team USA, Zeke Nnaji collecting Pac-12 freshman of the year honors and the men’s basketball team’s win over rival ASU.