Mir McLean has two scars on her knee. One is a small thin line that takes a second glance to really see. The other is thick, bumpy and obvious. Those scars are two marks that McLean has taken with her from Virginia (her previous school) to Maryland, where she will finish her career.
The injuries that have plagued her soon-to-be six-year college basketball career left a mark. But so has everything else the journey-woman basketball player has gone through – some good, some bad. Those marks just aren’t always visible.
But McLean wouldn’t be here at Maryland, playing for the No. 7 undefeated Terrapins, without those scars. They helped her come home.
McLean started her college career at UConn, playing sparingly before transferring to Virginia. There, she had a successful start to her third season, averaging 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game before suffering multiple ligament tears, including her ACL.
McLean could have rehabbed and finished her career at UVA, likely having the same success she had prior to that injury. But Virginia had become too perfect, too comfortable.
“I needed to get out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I didn’t really want to leave, but I knew I needed to be able to extend my hand and go further outside myself, to trust God to be able to move.”
Strange as it may seem, the school that pushed her out of that comfort zone is the one she’s known the longest, and the best.
McLean was born in Baltimore, just 32 miles down the road from College Park. Her first experiences with college athletics came in the stands at Maryland, surrounded by her brother, parents and fellow Terrapin fans.
“I remember I really enjoyed the atmosphere of everything,” she said. “I was just in awe of everything. The lights, the cheerleaders, the game itself. Just the passion that the athletes play with.”
Now, she’s one of them. And she’s doing it with one of her best friends.
Saylor Poffenbarger also started her basketball journey at Maryland. A native of Frederick, Maryland, Poffenbarger remembers going to Terrapin basketball camps as a kid. Her first scholarship offer came from Brenda Frese when she was in eighth grade. But she and McLean had their eyes on another program: UConn. They both started their careers as Huskies, with Poffenbarger leaving after her freshman campaign, and McLean transferring after her sophomore season.
The portal wasn’t what it is today, and both McLean and Poffenbarger faced backlash for their decisions to leave UConn. Now, as the transfer portal evolves, people are starting to see what the duo already knew: Leaving a school doesn’t always mean you hated it, or didn’t get anything from playing there. Sometimes, it’s just time to move one.
“With the transfer portal being more relevant now, it takes the pressure off of those decisions,” Poffenbarger said. “Because I think it’s OK to transfer, go somewhere, serve your purpose there and then find a new niche for yourself. For me, without the transfer portal, I wouldn’t be the player I am now. You’re going to get negative comments, but you have to focus on the ones that support you and weed the rest out.”
Throughout their respective careers, Poffenbarger and McLean have stayed in touch, constantly texting back-and-forth and calling each other for advice or when they need a pick-me-up. So it’s fitting that their careers are ending at Maryland, in the state where they first met, at the program that feels like home.
Okananwa has a looser definition of home. It’s Peabody, Massachusetts, where she grew up, and Worcester Academy where she finished high school. It’s also Nigeria, where her parents are from, even though she’s never been. Her basketball schedule makes it impossible to carve out time for a trip, but for now, she embraces her heritage through her values.
“I very much grew up in a Nigerian household,” she said. I have my American accent, but my ideals, my beliefs, my way of thinking and way of life is very much Nigerian.”
Part of her beliefs is a strong Christian faith that Okananwa leaned on during the transfer process. There was no flashing light, no huge sign, instead it was just a feeling that grew stronger and stronger until she officially entered the portal.
Okananwa had a breakout sophomore campaign at Duke. She finished the season by leading Duke to an ACC Championship, the team’s first since 2013, while coming off the bench to earn MVP honors. She then helped the Blue Devils make the Elite Eight, also for the first time since 2013, averaging 9.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
Her success coupled with her love for the school and program made the decision a challenge, but once the thought entered her mind, Okananwa couldn’t ignore it. Even though at first, she wanted to.
“I had trouble believing that ‘Hey, this might not be my place,’ ” she said. “ ‘This might not be where I graduate from,’ which is something I always thought I would do.”
The decision was solidified during an end-of-season meeting with Duke head coach Kara Lawson.
“I really had the realization during a conversation with my past coach,” Okananwa said. “It was a mutual thing, in terms of understanding that we both wanted different things and just accepting that.”
Maryland made it clear from the moment Okananwa’s name was in the portal that she was wanted. Frese, who happens to be best friends with Okananwa’s high school coach, texted her and set up a visit for the very next day.
She instantly felt a connection with the Terps program, bonding with McLean in particular.
Growing up as the only girl in her family, McLean always wanted a sister, so she created one, an imaginary twin named Megan. They have different names, but Okananwa is exactly like the sister McLean always imagined. It’s almost like she manifested Okananwa finding her way to Maryland.
“Luchi is like a real Megan,” she said with a laugh. “Like the other day we were in the training room for four to five hours, just talking about anything and everything. We didn’t move.”
For Poffenbarger and McLean, home is where they came from. For Okananwa, it’s where her feet are. The kind of place where she can talk for hours without even looking at the clock.
“Every place is different and unique,” she said. “I don’t want to hold any place to a past standard. I like to embrace where I am and figure things out.”
Home can be where you’re from. It can be who you are. It can be the people who surround yourself with. For Poffenbarger, McLean and Okananwa, home is where the Terps are.