By Harry Minium
FRISCO, Texas – For those Neanderthals out there who still don't believe female athletes work as hard and endure as much pain as guys and don't exhibit incredible courage for the love of their teammates, I give you Ajah Wayne.
I was yards away from Wayne on March 2 when she was knocked to the floor at Chartway Arena and tore the ACL in her knee. She screamed in pain and cried, and it was painful to watch. She admitted later her tears were less about the pain and more about the fact that she knew what had happened.
She blew out her right knee just before her junior year of high school and what she felt last week was the same pain, this time in the left leg. She knew she faced surgery and many months of rehab.
She is scheduled for surgery in two weeks.
Wayne could have stayed in Norfolk when the Monarchs hit the road for a game at Middle Tennessee and then for the Conference USA Tournament. Cramming an injured knee onto airplanes was a painful experience.
But she opted to be with her teammates.
She encouraged them, offered tips at practice and generally provided a ton of moral support.
But she couldn't stand the thought of not being with her teammates on the court. Without telling coach DeLisha Milton-Jones or the training staff, she began testing the leg, running up and down hotel hallways, stretching and jumping.
Yes, that was reckless. But it shows just how much she wanted to play.
"I know it's not right to say I let my teammates down by getting hurt," she said, "But I wanted to do everything I could to help.
"The leg felt good, so I called the doctor, and said, 'I've got this dumb idea. I think I can play,'" she added.
"He told me if you feel you can go, then go."
Milton-Jones at first thought she was kidding. "Don't play with my emotions," she said.
Once the medical and training staff cleared her, Wayne was allowed to practice, albeit it on a very limited basis. She wore a knee brace that limited movement in her knee, and protected it against serious injury, but she knew there was a small chance she could do further damage.
I was among those who figured she was there largely to give her teammates moral support.
Yet with ODU trailing North Texas by 15 points Thursday in the Conference USA quarterfinals, Wayne and Milton-Jones locked eyes. "Are you ready to play?" she was asked.
"Put me in, coach," Wayne replied.
She entered the game as the fourth quarter began and played all but the final 33 seconds of the game.
"She's a fighter. When I saw her sub in, I went 'oh yeah,'" said senior guard Amari Young. "Even though she wasn't as mobile as he usually is, she still caused havoc."
Inspired by "Weezy," as she is known, the Monarchs rallied and trimmed the lead to six. But North Texas wisely milked the clock and ODU, which missed some key shots and had costly turnovers down the stretch, simply ran out of time.
Her stat line wasn't impressive: Two rebounds, two fouls and a steal in almost eight minutes.
But if there was a gauge that measured courage, it would have exploded.
Nancy Lieberman, the former ODU All-American, attended the game, and Lady Magic is a huge fan of Weezy. She said it was one of the bravest of performances she's ever seen from an athlete.
"I could not believe what she did, just could not believe it," she said "When you're a winner you're a winner, and when you care you care. And Ajah Wayne is definitely a winner.
"It was so impressive. I wish I could have gone up and given her a hug."
Wayne said she is "heartbroken" that the Monarchs were knocked out so early in the tournament, and who can blame her? ODU was picked to finish second in the league and defeated both Charlotte and Middle Tennessee, the top two teams in the East Division.
Yet the Monarchs likely head into next week's WNIT having lost three of their last four.
"It really stings," she said.
It surely stings for Iggy Allen, who transferred from Florida Atlantic and is a graduate student with no further eligibility. She came to ODU to go to the NCAA Tournament. And while the WNIT would give ODU another shot a redemption, it's not the same as dancing in March Madness.
"Iggy's not coming back, and I know this would have been so special for her," Ajah said. "Just knowing her story and knowing she played so hard, I feel bad for her."
Allen led the Monarchs with 20 points against North Texas.
While Allen isn't returning, Wayne stunned Milton-Jones by saying she will be back, as will fellow seniors Young and Mariah Adams.
The trio has been together four years and because the NCAA has granted another year of eligibility to all athletes because of the pandemic, they all plan to come back for a fifth.
I wasn't surprised to hear about Young and Adams, but Ajah's decision I thought would be made more difficult because of the impending rehab. If she recovers at the rate of an average athlete, she'll be ready to return in December or January.
They all huddled while on the road trip and have agreed not only to return, but to enter the same graduate program together. They all have or soon will have undergraduate degrees and will begin studying for master's degrees in public administration.
"We'll all be taking classes together," Wayne said.
"Yes, we're coming back," Young said, adding that they're doing so in part to take ODU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.
"I'm coming back," Wayne said when I asked her. I asked her if she could change her mind, twice, and she finally looked at me a little sternly and said, "I'm not going to change my mind because I am so dedicated to this program. I don't think that would not be a mindset I would have.
"The three seniors, we're all so close. We're all in this together."
I remind you that there's a long time before next season and circumstances could change for all of them.
If they return, it gives Milton-Jones an outstanding nucleus to build around.
The three averaged a composite 28.1 points, 14.2 rebounds and nearly seven assists per game. Moreover, they're seasoned veterans with two years under their belts playing for Milton-Jones.
Taleah Washington, a talented guard who transferred from Syracuse, missed most of this season with an injury but returns. So does Brianna Jackson, the 6-foot-2 forward and a host of good talent off the bench.
There will be holes to fill. Allen is gone, and senior guard Aziah Hudson, who made 36 of 106 3-pointers this season, may opt to take a job rather than return. ODU needs more size, and you can never have too many good shooters.
But for now, it appears the Monarchs are bringing back a ton of talent and experience
And in the case of Wayne, a healthy dose of intestinal fortitude.
Minium: Ajah Wayne as a Profile in Courage for the ODU Women's Basketball Team
