Kaili McLaren has plenty of reasons to be excited about tonight’s visit to John Paul Jones Arena. The Connecticut freshman has been travelingback and forth to Charlottesville since sixth grade, attending basketball camps and visiting her brother, who graduated from Virginia in 2004. The JPJ Arena, the Cavaliers’ spectacular new 15,000-seat gem, replaced University Hall and opened this fall.
“I just cannot shoot in University Hall,” said McLaren, a D.C. native and Good Counsel High alumnae. “The fact that we get to play at John Paul Jones Arena is really exciting to me, and it’s good news. I can get a fresh start on the campus.”
She’ll also reunite with former AAU teammate Monica Wright (Woodbridge/Forest Park). The two rookies dominated the local high school basketball scene last winter, with Wright winning her second Virginia Group AAA state title and McLaren garnering a second consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship. Both were McDonald’s All-Americans, and in tonight’s Big East Conference-Atlantic Coast Conference clash, a national audience will measure their progress with two of the nation’s most elite programs.
“I just feel so old. You know how you always see yourself watching games, watching college players. Now you’re actually the college player,” said Wright, who is making as big an impact of any freshman in the country. Named ACC preseason rookie of the year and picking up three ACC rookie of the week nods in the season’s first five weeks, the 5-foot-11 playmaker has started every game and is second on the Cavaliers (8-2) with more than 13 points per game and over 30 assists.
“She learns quickly, she handles constructive criticism very well, and she’s just really improved,” said Cavaliers head coach Debbie Ryan. “She’s taken her athleticism and molded it to our program very quickly.”
The transition hasn’t been as easy for McLaren, a 6-2 forward who’s only seen action off the bench, averaging 5.1 points in less than 15 minutes per game.
“[The biggest challenge is] just adjusting to the pace of thegame,” said McLaren. “I’ve had to get faster, lose a couple pounds and just be able to run offenses and play defense.”
Just as they did on the AAU circuit growing up, elite players like Wright and McLaren run into friends and former teammates all over the country. The Huskies (6-0) bested McLaren’s Good Counsel classmate Brianna McFadden at Holy Cross earlier in the season. Virginia freshman guard Paulisha Kellum (Upper Marlboro/McNamara), one of the Cavaliers’ key reserves thus far, is another former cohort from McLaren and Wright’s AAU team.
“There’ll probably be a point in the game where we’ll all be together. You’ll probably see a couple of smiles,” said McLaren. “But it’s still all about getting the W. We can laugh and joke about it after the game.”
No. 6 Connecticut (6-0) at Virginia (8-2)
» When: Tonight, 7
» Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville
» TV: ESPNU
