The preseason basketball pundits ask again and again if the Virginia women’s basketball team — which tips off its season Friday at 7 p.m. against High Point at John Paul Jones Arena — can overcome the hole left by recent graduate Sharneé Zoll, as if she’s the only player the Cavaliers will be missing. Please! Let me tell you about another player Virginia will wish was still on its roster.
My experience with this player began last year. I attended nearly every Virginia women’s basketball home game last season, from the preseason blowout against Team Concept to the emotional senior night double-overtime victory against Georgia Tech. From the start, several players caught my attention: Monica Wright, with her dominant court presence, the now-graduated Zoll with her bullet passes and Aisha Mohammed with her ability to dominate the post and grab a rebound against anyone. But there was one player who didn’t really catch my attention until the Cavaliers’ matchup against the Richmond Spiders last Nov. 18.
Among the giant Aisha Mohammeds and Lyndra Littleses, I remember seeing a tiny guard. Someone passed the little guard the ball, and — as soon as she got it in her hands — the orange sphere leapt from her fingers and swished through the net. For a brief moment, she had a smile on her face so utterly convincing that even my own troubles evaporated. From that moment on, I knew I liked this No. 21, whoever she was.
As the season progressed and I became more familiar with the team, I learned this Cavalier was named Tara McKnight, that she was a team captain and a walk-on. I also learned that, as much as I enjoyed seeing Tara putting up threes on the court, she always played the backup role, getting only a few minutes per game, if any.
But Tara never seemed disappointed to be on the bench. In fact, she seemed just as fired up keeping seats warm as she did playing guard. She was always hopping off the bench and high-fiving her teammates during time-outs, smiling and encouraging them, cheering when they scored.
But every once in awhile, Debbie Ryan would put Tara in the game again, and Tara would be ready. It seemed every time her white sneakers hit the court, a new life sprang into the Cavaliers. The ball very often ended up in Tara’s hands a little bit outside of the 3-point arc, and nearly every time this happened, the ball soared into the hoop. Count it. Her season 3-point completion percentage was an astonishing .542, a number that topped the ACC by more than 10 percent.
I wasn’t the only one who cheered every time Tara sank a three: The whole crowd ate it up. When Morehead State played at JPJ last year, Tara sank three 3-pointers in all, and when that last one went in, the team might as well have just won the national championship. The rafters echoed with jubilant cheers and the PA sounded like a muffled cough in the roar of the crowd.
Not satisfied with being an afterthought, Tara continued to light the court up from long range whenever she received playing time. In the away game against Rider, she put up six 3-pointers and sunk five of them.
Tara is Virginia’s version of Rudy. Her story is an example of the power of the human spirit. That’s why it’s so appealing and universal. Tara overcame a small body and a small window of opportunity using her big dedication and big heart to play D-1 basketball at a top-25 program. With each of her successes, she forces us fans to ask ourselves what we might be able to conquer with a similarly big dedication and heart.
Every 3-point basket that Tara sank wasn’t just a score for her team; it was a score for the little people with big dreams everywhere. Her persistence and passion, whether she was patting a teammate on the back or celebrating a shot she just drained, empowered us and gave us something to emulate.
When the buzzer sounded on the Cavaliers’ loss to Old Dominion in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past March, and Tara walked off the court as a Cavalier for the last time, the team didn’t just lose a leader and a motivator. It lost a little beacon of hope.
I think the team will miss Tara. You don’t make a player a team captain two years in a row, an honor bestowed on only 13 players in the program’s history, unless she’s an important component of the team. Senior point guard Britnee Millner said Tara had the most heart of anyone who played for Virginia last year and noted a team of 13 might have difficulty replacing the passion of one.
And I know that I’ll miss Tara, too. I always had a blast chanting “Put in Tara!” and seeing her remind everyone on the court and in the seats what makes sports important in the first place.
No. 21, Toots, T-Mac — whatever nickname you want to give her — constantly reminded Charlottesville that the secret to success isn’t making the most headlines but making the most of every opportunity and not letting your status as a walk-on prevent you from sinking lots of 3-pointers.
P.S. Today is Tara’s birthday! Maybe your present to her should be coming out this Friday to support her old team. Happy 24th, Tara!
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