A year ago, the biggest question on everyone’s mind was whether Aari McDonald was going to declare for the WNBA Draft after Arizona’s season ended.
The Wildcats’ star point guard “walked” on Senior Day — even though she had eligibility left — and won both the Ann Meyers Drysdale award for best shooting guard in the country and the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
It wasn’t until after the world shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic that McDonald had time to think about her future. She decided to return to the UA.
This time, she’s leaving for real.
McDonald, arguably the greatest player in the history of the Wildcats’ program, said Thursday that she will leave college and declare for the WNBA Draft following the season. She could have stayed for one more season, as the NCAA is allowing all players who are currently competing to retain an extra year of eligibility.
McDonald and the No. 9 Wildcats (15-3, 13-3) will play Arizona State on Sunday in Tempe in the teams’ regular season finale.
“This is the last year you will see me in an Arizona jersey,” McDonald told the Star in a Zoom call. “My time has been great here. I’ve grown as a person and as a player. I’ve got to accomplish the mission. Yeah, this is my last time here. It’s time to grow and get better each game, make my teammates better and just keep making history.”
UA coach Adia Barnes talked recently about re-recruiting Arizona’s three seniors — McDonald, Sam Thomas and Trinity Baptiste — to play one more season in 2021-22. But McDonald, 22, said her mind is made up.
“I’ll take pictures of me in my jersey and I’ll post on Instagram,” she said. “Or if I take over the (program’s Instagram) account, they’ll see me that way. I’m not trying to be 23, 24 in college.”
The Wildcats are locks to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly two decades, and McDonald wants to make a deep run. In the NCAA selection committee’s first top-16 reveal, Arizona was listed as a No. 2 seed and the No. 8 overall team in the country. Monday’s loss at No. 4 Stanford likely won’t affect their seeding.
“We can’t stop now that we have secured a place in the tournament,” McDonald said. “It’s about getting better. This is like do or die — you win or you go home. We can’t just get there and not get better. We have to improve and just get better every day.”
McDonald initially planned to turn pro a year ago before changing her mind in April. She said a lot went into the decision: McDonald was recovering from an ankle injury when the season shut down because of the pandemic. The Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament hopes were dashed when postseason play was canceled.
McDonald decided to return for the 2020-21 season in part because still had goals for the team and for herself.
Arizona coach Adia Barnes and guard Aari McDonald embrace during the Wildcats’ Senior Day celebration on Feb. 14.
This season, she’s improved her 3-point shooting, cut down on turnovers and increased her assists. She’s doing the little things better on defense, and has taken charge of the offense. McDonald has also grown as a leader.
Heading into the final game of the regular season, McDonald is averaging 18.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She has racked up 83 assists and 45 steals.
Perhaps her decision was inevitable. When she checked out of the Wildcats’ Senior Day win over Washington for the final time, McDonald walked to center court at McKale Center, kissed her hand and touched the “block A” one last time.
