Transitioning from high school athletics to the NCAA Division I level has a steep learning curve, and two Terrapins women’s basketball freshmen have experienced an even tougher adjustment than most.
Forward Aja Ellison and guard Kiara Leslie are still rehabilitating from injuries suffered in high school, both having missed significant portions of their senior seasons. Now, they’re both working their way back to full form with the Terps.
Ellison tore a ligament in her right foot last year and had surgery last October that forced her to miss her whole season. On top of that, the Burlington, New Jersey, native had to have her tonsils removed recently.
“I’m still in rehab, I’ll be in there for a minute,” she said.
Ellison, who is rehabbing her foot, has a training partner in Leslie.
Leslie is recovering from a hip injury that caused her to miss most of her final prep season. After meeting this summer during training, Ellison and Leslie said they are “joined at the hips,” according to junior forward Tierney Pfirman.
Since the Terps began practicing six days a week about three weeks ago, Ellison and Leslie go to rehab to work with trainers and then to practice, meaning their schedules are tiring, especially considering they are also getting a feel for life in college.
“Before coming here I was not in shape,” Leslie said. “The only thing I was doing was pool workouts because of my hip. I got in shape when I came here, which I would not recommend.”
That being said, coach Brenda Frese has high hopes for Leslie. At the team’s media day on Oct. 21, Frese said some of Leslie’s traits remind her of last year’s starting forward and the program’s all-time leading scorer, Alyssa Thomas. The veteran coach also said she is “someone whose future is extremely bright.”
As the freshmen work to ready themselves for Big Ten play, they tried to listen to the advice their coach and older teammates gave them in practice about technique and other aspects of the game.
“If you go to a high school game, you probably won’t hear a lot of communicating, but here if you wanna play on the court, you have to talk,” Leslie said.
The ability to take guidance from their peers and coaches is something the young duo will use entering the season as they aim to overcome recent injuries and help fill the gaps left by Thomas and former Terps center Alicia DeVaughn.
“The expectation is just to play how they know they can play,” Pfirman said. “My expectations for them are just like [my expectations] for the seniors.”
