ATLANTA — If you didn’t know her name before the NCAA tournament, Aari McDonald made sure to change that.
But even after getting drafted third overall, some people still are pronouncing her name wrong.
“It’s very tiring,” McDonald said. “They should know my name by now. They’ll know it on the court for sure.”
On the court is where McDonald has made her name as a leader, scrappy defender and an overall selfless player.
“We just think she is a player that plays with energy that can play at the pace we want to play at, can defend the way we want to defend and can do a lot of different things on both sides of the ball,” Dream head coach Nicki Collen said.
Off the court, McDonald is looking forward to forming a relationship with Renee Montgomery, part-owner of the Dream, who has inspired her.
“She has been a role model, not just to myself, but to others. I can’t wait to touch down in Atlanta. I’m definitely going to pick her brain and always be in communication with her about everything, stuff bigger than basketball," she said.
McDonald is the first women’s basketball player out of Arizona to be drafted in the first round of the WNBA draft.
It’s safe to say that the Dream will have a lot of new fans in Arizona.