McCray looking to bounce back after major injury
FAIRFIELD, C.T. (BVM) — The pursuit of a college basketball scholarship started for Asia McCray in middle school. Born and raised in Washington D.C, McCray, now a senior on the Sacred Heart University (SHU) women鈥檚 basketball team, needed a few years of playing the sport to finally be passionate about it.
鈥�I started playing basketball in the 3rd grade, but I didn’t really take it as seriously as pursuing a college scholarship,鈥� said McCray. 鈥淎fter a few years of playing basketball I began to play against serious competition and for something important. It started from medals, trophies, rankings, and then the best college offer.
After middle school, McCray attended St. John鈥檚 College High School in D.C. and played for their basketball team for all four years she attended. In those four years, McCray helped St. John鈥檚 to three D.C. state championships as well as a 2017 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship in her senior year, where she served as team captain.
Those accolades opened the door for McCray and her team to tougher competition and recognition from college recruiters.
鈥淲e played in a lot of competitive tournaments before the season that would start in the winter for college coaches to come recruit,鈥� said McCray. 鈥淲e even traveled to places like Florida and Arizona to play against the best of the best.鈥�
McCray credits her family as her leading motivator when it came to being recruited to a college program.
鈥淢y family always talked to me about the importance of getting a college education, and how amazing it would be on a free ride without student loans,鈥� said McCray. 鈥淪o, that was a big reason for why I worked so hard to reach that goal and make my family proud.鈥�
McCray committed to SHU during her senior year and played her first season of college basketball in 2017. Appearing聽 21 times her freshman year, all off the bench, she averaged 1.7聽 per contest. McCray made sure she adjusted to life as a college athlete; not only on the court, but off the court as well.
鈥淥nce I entered life as a college student athlete I began to learn lots of life lessons like having good time management, being organized, working with others, and dealing with adversity,鈥� said McCray. 鈥淏eing a student athlete is almost like a job so I had to get accustomed to a rigorous schedule while also maintaining good grades.鈥�
In McCray鈥檚 sophomore season she appeared in 11 games, all from the bench and again averaged two points per contest. But, unfortunately for McCray, she suffered a major setback in the middle of the season.
鈥淚 tore my ACL my sophomore year and it was by far the biggest challenge I鈥檝e ever had to face mentally and physically,鈥� said McCray. 鈥淚t also taught me a lot about myself. I learned to trust the process and life will throw different obstacles at you but I鈥檓 a big believer in things happening for a reason.鈥�
McCray missed the rest of the 2018-19 season as well as the 2019-20 season, where the Pioneers made it to the Northeast Conference (NEC) semifinals before COVID-19 postponed all sports. Missing all that game time allowed McCray to develop a new mindset, even though it was a tough setback.
鈥淚 felt really depressed and sad about being hurt because I wasn鈥檛 able to do the thing I loved, but I learned to appreciate the little things in life and focus more on the positive things,鈥� said McCray. 鈥淪o with that being said I guess you can say being a student athlete and having to come back from a major injury has taught me to appreciate more and to trust in the process of life鈥檚 course.鈥�
The senior communications major is now cleared to play for her senior year, which starts on Nov. 25 at Fairfield University.聽
