Published: March 02, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y.
When Monique McLean was growing up in Newport
News, Va., as the only daughter in a family of basketball-playing
brothers, it wasn’t hard to see what the future had in store for
her. A phenomenal athlete with long, sculpted arms, a charming
smile and graceful movements, she logically aspired to put her
natural talents to use and become the best cheerleader that
Virginia had ever seen.
Cheerleader?
Looking at her now, a slashing, dynamic guard for the St. John’s
women’s basketball team, she has certainly ended up in a different
place than her childhood aspirations led her, emerging on the
national scene as one of the up-and-coming players in the BIG EAST
Conference.
After a successful freshman year for the Red Storm, McLean has
stepped up her game to become the team’s leading scorer and
second-best rebounder in her sophomore campaign. The team heads to
the 2007 BIG EAST Tournament this weekend and will be relying on
their sharpshooting guard to help carry them deep into the
bracket.
Listening to McLean describe her glory days as a cheerleader,
she can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, it’s true,” she says. “For some
reason, I really wanted to be a cheerleader.”
In fact, McLean chose to cheer on the varsity cheerleading squad
her freshman year for the Bruton High School Panthers, even though
she had grown up playing organized basketball since the age of
nine. She spent her fall reminding the football team that it was
(boom) dynamite and her winter urging the men’s and women’s
basketball teams to b-e a-g-g-r-e-s-s-i-v-e.
But basketball remained a big part of the McLean family. Her
father, James, retired from the United States Navy, played college
basketball at Campbell University in North Carolina and her
two brothers, James and Hughes were avid players up until college.
McLean recalls playing with her brothers at the gym on the Navy
base where her father was stationed all throughout middle school
and high school.
After a year on the cheerleading team, the high school girls
basketball coach at Bruton, previously McLean’s gym teacher in
middle school, convinced her to give the basketball team a try.
The next year, instead of cheering the team from the sidelines,
McLean was starring for Bruton as a do-it-all guard. Once she began
playing AAU Basketball for the traditional powerhouse Boo Williams
program, St. John’s head coach Kim Barnes Arico
took notice.
On a home visit, both Barnes Arico and McLean recall having a
connection. “My parents and I just had a lot of fun with her and
assistant coach Jonath Nicholas,” McLean says. “A
lot of fun doing nothing. That’s when I started becoming really
interested in seeing what St. John’s had to offer.”
She ended up at St. John’s for the 2005-06 season and found a
role as a rookie on a team with five seniors. In a ‘sixth man’
role, McLean made her mark not only in games by averaging 7.0
points per game, but in practice as well.
“She challenged our seniors last year every single day in
practice,” Barnes Arico says. “She wasn’t afraid of anything as a
freshman. If she could score 30 times in a row, she would.”
2005-06 was a banner year for Red Storm women’s basketball. A
second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament and a 22-8 overall
record marked one of the most successful seasons ever for St.
John’s.
Heading into this year, her coach knew McLean would have to step
up during her sophomore season. Back in August, Barnes Arico said
this about her second-year guard: “Monique could be the X-factor
for us. How she plays may determine a lot about how our season
goes.”
McLean now averages 16.4 points per game and has had four
double-doubles and four 20+ point performances on the year. She is
easily one of the most improved players in the league and has
garnered the attention of media and coaches.
“So many people have come up to me this year talking about
Monique,” Barnes Arico says. “She has really shown she can compete
with anyone in the BIG EAST.”
Heading into the BIG EAST Tournament, McLean has gone from a
freshman role player to a sophomore starter. Along with senior
guard Kia Wright, the Red Storm boasts one of the
most exciting backcourts in the nation.
Both will be on display on Saturday at noon against Louisville
in the first round of the conference tournament, being held in
Hartford, Conn., at the Hartford Civic Center.
McLean has fond memories of her time as a cheerleader, but knows
she made the right decision.
“If I’m at another game other than ours, I’ll look at the
cheerleaders and say to myself ‘I could be out there doing
that.’
“But then our games come around and I know I’m a basketball
player.”