A year ago, life was moving fast for Aari McDonald.
McDonald led Arizona all the way to the national championship game and came one basket short of winning it all. Days later, she was selected third overall in the WNBA draft by the Atlanta Dream. Two days after that, she was in Atlanta for the start of training camp.
It was a whirlwind.
McDonald’s rookie season was full of quick pivots, changes in direction — and coaching turnover. McDonald’s first coach, Nicki Cullen, left for Baylor during the preseason. Mike Petersen took over for the first half of the season, and Darius Taylor finished up.
Then there were lots of distractions on and off the court as well. McDonald’s teammates checked themselves in and out of games, and were the subject of a few fights. Amid all the chaos, the Dream finished 8-24.
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It wasn’t easy. “I always prayed,” she said.
McDonald did her best to stay focused and disciplined.
“I had a lot of bad days, but I always kept going,” McDonald said. “Like (Dream teammate) Erica (Wheeler) said, there are only 144 of us in this league, so no matter what I was going through — if I wasn’t getting the right minutes or anything — I just always played hard. Just trying to make sure I made my teammates better but also made myself better along the way.”
McDonald pushed through and earned All-Rookie team honors, leading all first-year players with 59 assists and 25 steals. She finished second among rookies with 189 total points, 32 3-pointers made and 104 3-pointers attempted. She made 31 consecutive free throws, a club record.
A year later, things are looking up. Atlanta has a new coach in Tanisha Wright and a new general manager in Dan Padover. The Dream’s new leadership brought in veterans like Wheeler, and drafted Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard first overall and Michigan’s Naz Hillmon in the second round.
McDonald says the vibe at training camp is completely different this time around. The Dream will take on the Washington Mystics on Sunday in their first preseason game, then travel to Connecticut for a May 1 exhibition against the Sun. Atlanta’s season begins May 7 with a game at the Dallas Wings.
“There’s high-energy (from) Day 1,” McDonald said. “You start on a drill everything is intense, high energy. Everyone is cheering for each other. Everyone has bought in this year. Expectations are high. Everyone’s locked in on all cylinders. And you can tell this core really wants to win and take this team to new heights. I’m really excited and ready to be really competitive.”
Aari McDonald
McDonald and Wheeler, who was signed after playing last season with the Los Angeles Spark, are competing for minutes at point guard. The two have become fast friends while battling on the court.
“(Last year) when she came to LA and we played against each other, she made it tough for me,” Wheeler said of McDonald. “It was not easy at all. Just to be here with her now, we compete. And we’re going at each other every night. I want to tell her yeah, ‘Respect level cause I’m older, but when we step between those lines the respect level is into you every time.’ Because it’s going to push me and make you better and me better. We’ve been doing that since I’ve got here. We’ve been at it, we just finished going at it. I think it’s going to be great for our team.”
McDonald, as always, is up for any challenge.
“Aari’s very active. She’s talking, she’s communicated. She’s running her team so she’s doing a good job with those things,” Wright said. “She has been doing a good job of really dialing in and focusing on what we’re trying to implement here.”
McDonald had a busy offseason. She finished up her master’s degree in applied behavior analysis and hosted her first basketball camp in her hometown of Fresno, California. In January, she watched as the UA put her name in the McKale Center Ring of Honor.
And during the Final Four, McDonald took part in a panel with the Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird; there, she shared that she went through some “bumps and bruises” in her rookie season.
McDonald also worked on her all aspects of her game, including her speed.
“One of my main improvements was making the right reads,” McDonald said. “At the point guard, the game is constantly … we’re going fast. It’s a fast-paced league. Making the right reads coming off ball screens, getting the open player, looking for my big man when they are running or holding their spots in the paint. And just becoming a better shooter, a better passer and cutting down on those turnovers.”
Rim shots
UA coach Adia Barnes and a handful of Wildcats players were on hand for Wednesday’s unveiling of a new basketball court for the Boys & Girls Club Jim and Vicki Click Clubhouse. All five returnees — Cate Reese, Lauren Ware, Helena Pueyo, Madi Conner and Shaina Pellington — attended, as did UA men’s basketball player Dalen Terry.
