While Ajae Yoakum hasn’t played a minute this season, she’s managed to find a way to make a mark on the culture of the Arizona women’s basketball team.
This season might not have gone as planned but the graduate student, who transferred to Arizona from Florida International, shows up every day, cheers on her teammates and has worked hard to get stronger and back in her uniform.
After tearing her left ACL in her knee in July and having surgery, Yoakum spent most of the last five months or so in rehab. She even remembers the day she got cleared to take contact in practice for two reasons. No. 1, it was her birthday, Jan. 8, and No. 2, it was the Baylor game.
Still, it hasn’t been easy. It never is when all you really want to be doing is playing with your teammates and helping them win. And when you can’t do the things that seemed so natural before your injury.
People are also reading…
“It feels good to be back,” Yoakum said. “I just remember months ago, I wasn’t able to do anything. I was sitting here on sidelines crying almost every day. It just feels good. Great energy, great spirit. I’m just happy to be back because I haven’t played in over a year.”
Yoakum
It’s that spirit on the bench that her teammates rely on during games — and will when they face No. 20 Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
In practice, back in July, Yoakum was cutting and pivoted the wrong way. She heard a pop and felt the pain. The 6-foot forward now says that it’s still a bit scary doing “fast pivots and cutting” but she is being a bit more cautious these days.
Working in the weight room with UA performance coach Chris Allen, as well as with trainer Bart Jameson, has helped her confidence in getting back out to compete in practice.
“Knowing that I am stronger,” Yoakum said. “At first, I felt like I was really weak and I was just scared of going out there and tweaking my knee or doing anything again. Bart, he just showed me I was stronger, that I could do it. He just pushed me to do it, just get out there and be myself. … Then I had to instill the confidence in myself, knowing that I’ll be OK. I can be out there and go play again, and just knowing that my ACL is healed. It’s not messed up anymore. Getting over that little hump, like I’m OK, I’m here, it’s fixed, nothing’s wrong with me.”
Coming to Arizona, Yoakum played two seasons at FIU. As a senior, she made 52.6% of her shots, averaging 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Prior to that, she was at Eastern Arizona College for two seasons.
Not all programs bring their injured players with them when they go on the road. Case in point, Arizona State only brought the eight players who played to McKale Center last Saturday, and that was a two-hour bus trip.
Arizona coach Adia Barnes goes to great lengths to make sure that her players feel like they are part of the team whether they are suiting up or not.
“She involves me in everything,” Yoakum said. “She keeps me included. She still treats me like I’m one of them. She still gets on me. It feels really good to know that she still cares.”
On the Wildcats’ away trips, Yoakum would be up at 7 a.m., lifting with Allen or even when she couldn’t practice. He challenged her, and when there were moments she may not have wanted to go through that, she did and it’s made all the difference.
Pushing through when times get tough is exactly the moment the Wildcats find themselves in now. They are fighting for a bid to the NCAA Tournament one game at a time.
“Everybody’s working really hard to prove to ourselves that we can do it and we can beat really good teams,” Yoakum said. “I know that sometimes you can be tired but I feel like everybody’s pushing through their tired, everybody’s working … just to do what we need to do so that we can win and get there. I’m just really proud of them.”
On Monday afternoon, Yoakum warmed up with her teammates but didn’t go through the drills as they all needed to get the reps in. Typically, she’s on the practice players squad, and her role is all about “trying to make (my teammates) better.”
Even though she wants to play, Yoakum said she’s embraced the new role.
Yoakum said she is feeling back to normal, but there are still some not-so-good days. Not knowing what comes next is another challenge she is facing. While she most likely has another year of eligibility left, Yoakum hasn’t officially announced what she’s going to do.
“Ajae has been really good,” Barnes said. “I think it’s been hard for her being in full practices. I think she’s had some setbacks with her knees. I think it’s hard because it hurts a lot. I’m not sure she’s going to end up coming back to play. … I’m not sure if she wants to. We’re planning on celebrating her on senior night. But I definitely have to have more conversations with her.”
