Former Wildcats women’s basketball star Aari McDonald will be inducted into the Arizona Ring of Honor on Friday, when the UA opens Pac-12 play against Washington State in McKale Center.
The ceremony will take place on the court following the game. McDonald’s name has been hanging from the rafters since the start of the season; in November, the UA announced that McDonald would be honored in January.
During her final college season, McDonald — now a member of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, which selected her third overall in last spring’s draft — led the Wildcats to their first Final Four and a berth in the NCAA championship game. McDonald’s run through the NCAA Tournament capped a spectacular career: McDonald reigns as Arizona’s all-time leader in points per game, boasts the program’s single-game and single-season scoring marks and is third all-time in points.
She was named the 2021 Pac-12 Player of the Year and was a three-time Associated Press All-American, a two-time WBCA All-American and a two-time USWBA All-American. Twice, the Pac-12 named McDonald its defensive player of the year.
In 2020, McDonald won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given annually to the nation’s top shooting guard.
McDonald is the sixth UA women’s player to make the McKale Center ring of honor, joining former Wildcats stars Adia Barnes (1995-98), Shawntinice Polk (2001-05), Dee-Dee Wheeler (2002-05), Ify Ibekwe (2007-11) and Davellyn Whyte (2009-13). Barnes is currently the Wildcats’ head coach.
To qualify for the ring of honor, an athlete must be named a first-team All-American by a major organization; be named a national “player of distinction,” most valuable player or most outstanding player; by named the conference player of the year, freshman of the year or offensive or defensive player of the year; or be the program’s career leader in three or more career categories and hold them for more than give years after leaving college. Additionally, athletes can qualify by playing 10-plus years in the pros and/or being named an all-star, or by winning an Olympic gold medal.
McDonald qualifies under multiple criteria.
