It is no longer up for debate. Arizona's greatest women's basketball player is Aari McDonald. The other player who was in consideration happens to be her head coach, Adia Barnes. McDonald's leadership and elite-level scoring ability helped the Wildcats claim their first Final Four win and pulled the team to within one basket of a national title.
No team was ever able to hold the California native under 10 points in any game during her career at Arizona. She earned the Pac-12 Player of the Year award to go along with being named the co-defensive player of the year in the conference this season.
Even after all that McDonald saved her best for last by averaging 24.8 points over the course of six games in San Antonio during the NCAA Tournament. It put UA two points away from a championship.
She has helped transform the program and take the team from one of the worst in the conference to one that now expects to be back in the same position in the years to come.
So, Barnes has no qualms about people calling McDonald the program's best player.
"Aari hands down, no doubt, is the best player in Arizona's history," the fifth-year UA head coach said after Sunday's loss. "She was a lot better than I ever was. The fact that I held those records for so long, doesn't mean a lot, because it means you weren't that good for a long time. Aari just shattered everything. Better player than I could have ever been. Led us to the national championship game when no one would have thought that.
"Aari was phenomenal. Definitely the best player in Arizona history. I'm proud that I coached her. I'm proud she chose me twice. I'm proud she came to Arizona to do something special when we weren't good. We were probably 300-something RPI. For her to come here and come back when she could have gone pro, then to lead us to the national championship and be one shot away from winning it all, I mean, she's amazing."
McDonald became the face of the team during its miraculous run to the title game. She has the confidence every player only hopes to have and her coach gave her the freedom to play her game and trust that the explosive guard would make the right decisions.
Barnes said Sunday that there was no other player who was going to have the ball in her hand to end the game against Stanford. She was ready to live with the result no matter what happened because McDonald had earned that over her four years with the program after transferring from Washington.
Every player hopes to one day do what McDonald has accomplished. She's leaving the program in a better spot than when she arrived. She's not solely responsible for the turnaround, but it would not have happened without her.
"It's not about how you start, it's how you finish," she said. "Although we didn't get the outcome we wanted, I'm just proud of my teammates. I mean, this should motivate them coming in next year, just momentum, just looking back on what we did. The sky's the limit. Just to stay together. I mean, this will make them hungry.
"This will make me hungry in our basketball journeys. I'm excited for what we accomplished this year in just so little time, especially in this weird year. But I'm very thankful."
McDonald followed Barnes from Seattle to Tucson and each one put their trust in the other that something great would come from their bond. Both have helped completely turn the Arizona women's basketball program around leaving a positive feeling at the end of their journey together.
"Our relationship was built on trust," McDonald said of her connection with Barnes. "We both value being relational. That means a lot. She's helped me grow. I think I've helped her grow in many ways, as well. I'm just thankful for her.
"She gave me the keys. She really trusted me. Coming in, she told me what my role would be on the team. Yeah, I'm just really thankful for her. She's put me in great positions. Helped contribute to my success."
Barnes went on to a lengthy professional career after her playing days at Arizona came to an end. McDonald now looks poised to do the same coming off a transcendent career in Tucson.
"She's a baller," fellow senior Sam Thomas said of her teammate. "She's gonna score no matter what. Just seeing all the points she's been scoring and the attention she's been getting because we all knew how good Aari was this whole year, but to get world-wide recognition we're so proud of her. She's done great.
"After obviously it was really emotional I just pulled her to the side and said, 'I'm so proud of you, you made me a better person.' It's been an honor being her teammate and a captain with her, and I'm super excited for what she's gonna do at the next level."
McDonald, Barnes, Thomas and the rest of the Wildcats will be honored for their run to the title game with a welcome home ceremony at Arizona Stadium on Monday at 11:15 a.m. MST.
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