Mir McLean: College Basketball Player, University of Maryland

The Ballers Magazine
2 days ago
11 min read

Faith. Patience. Trust. Focus. For Mir McLean, these four words represent the main pillars that paved the way for her return to basketball after suffering a season-ending knee injury during her second season at the University of Virginia; and ones that allowed her to discover her leadership skills both on and off the court. "I learned a lot about myself emotionally, spiritually, vocally. I learned to have a voice off the court more than I did on the court. I was so used to leading by example. When that was taken away from me, I kind of found my voice in that and began to understand the game from a different perspective," Mir shares. It was up from there.

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After three seasons at Virginia, Mir decided to enter the transfer portal again and join the Maryland Terrapins. "I wanted to grow outside of what I was used to. I took a leap of faith, and that leap of faith helped me trust God even more than what I was already doing. Maryland is home. I think the act of leaving a second time and being in the transfer portal again—even though I was comfortable and in a good position at my school in Virginia—kind of helped me develop that leadership as well," she highlights. The rest is history! Currently in the midst of her final collegiate season, Mir is focused more than ever on living in the moment, being present, and leaving it all out there on the floor. Amazing!

Last time we spoke, you were navigating through your knee injury. Could you take us through that journey of finding your way back on the floor?

I think it was all about trusting the process. The process from getting cleared to then playing on the court was interesting because you see the light at the end of the tunnel and you just want to push faster to get to it, but sometimes that's not the best route to go. Usually they say: “Most accidents happen when you're close to home.” Trying to rush and finish just because you see the end is near isn't always the best idea, so for me, just trying to navigate that was probably the hardest part—you know, getting cleared and then getting back on the court. Once I did get cleared, it was more (about) feeling comfortable with my body doing certain movements and exercises again.

Let’s dive into the mental aspect of the game. You mentioned that for you it was all about patience and trusting the timing of things when you were coming back from injury. Mentally, how did you work to navigate through the ebbs and flows of it all?

I prayed a lot. Even now, I still pray before every game for the health of my body and my teammates’. So just trying to trust the process again, trusting myself, and knowing that what happened was just a freak accident. It was something that God wanted me to experience and I got through it the first time. If it were to happen again, I'd be ready and knowing. But, just trusting in God's timing was (key) for me.

Despite not being on the floor, how do you think your game elevated throughout your time on the sidelines?

I learned a lot about myself emotionally, spiritually, vocally. I learned to have a voice off the court more than I did on the court. I was so used to leading by example. When that was taken away from me, I kind of found my voice in that and began to understand the game from a different perspective—how ball screen coverages work, the decisions you make out of it, learning to keep your emotions intact, (etc). Certain things like that, I would have never tapped into had I not been injured. I think that added to my game as well.