UCLA’s Charlisse Leger-Walker returns for the tournament

There was so much more to this return than the monotony of it all.

Sure, Charles Leger-Walker had to teach her quadriceps to fire again, and the UCLA point guard sitting in her room was connecting her mind to her body to tense up her thigh, strengthening her a little more.

She had to learn how to walk again, run again, jump again, often getting up two hours earlier than her teammates so she could practice work on the anti-gravity machine and other weight-training equipment that would put her one step closer to playing again after a devastating knee injury.

Focusing on all those muscle groups ultimately made the graduate transfer feel stronger than ever. She spent so much time on her shot, hoisting 3-pointers after 3-pointers, that she developed the most consistency in her touch that she had felt during a career in which she was an All-Pac-12 player at Washington State before going down on that terrible day in late January inside Pauley Pavilion.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of being sidelined for nearly a season and a half was her new understanding of the game. Watching from the bench has allowed her to develop a more nuanced understanding of coach Corey Close’s system and which spots on the field give each teammate the greatest chance to score.

“I knew coming back this season was going to be a big part of my role on the team which is making sure people are in the best positions to succeed and really understanding how I can make the individual parts of our team come together better,” Leger-Walker said.

The long-awaited payoff begins Monday night at the Honda Center.

A team already loaded with talent could be overflowing with the return of a player who intends to help put everything together during what the third-place Bruins hope will be a championship tournament that begins with the season opener against San Diego State.

Close is envisioned to have four All-Big Ten players by the end of the season in Leger-Walker, center Lauren Betts and guards Kiki Rice and Gianna Kneepkens. Leger-Walker gives UCLA another elite point guard and veteran presence alongside Rice, whose games complement each other rather than provide repetition.

“One of them is more of a slopeside driver, where he’ll pressure the defense with his aggression and off the rebound, and the other one is more of a surveyor, and kind of a pass-first point guard,” Close said of Rice. “Wouldn’t it be great to have both of them on our team?”

Leger-Walker tormented her coach before joining her cause, helping seventh-seeded Washington State make an improbable run in the 2023 Pac-12 tournament. Leger-Walker dominated across the board with 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists, helping the Cougars hold off the Bruins in the tournament.

“I kind of took control of the game,” Close said. “It was Charles Leisure Walker’s world, and we were living in it.”

Almost a year later, after scoring 17 points in 19 minutes as her team en route to another win over the Bruins, the 5-foot-10 guard collapsed on the court at Pauley Pavilion in the third quarter. She rose briefly to test her injured knee before giving up, the pain unbearable.

It was a torn ACL. Her season is over.

The timing was particularly cruel given she was due to play for the New Zealand national team next week, helping the Tall Ferns try to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in something of a family tradition. Her mother, Leanne Walker, played as a starting goalkeeper for her home country in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Games, but with Charlisse sidelined, the Tall Ferns failed to qualify for 2024.

“There were a lot of disappointing things at that moment, which included more than just the injury itself,” Charlisse said.

With one season of eligibility remaining, Leger-Walker sought a promotion — encouraged by Washington State coach Cammie Etheridge, who recognized that her star player had maximized her potential on a team that did not have realistic national title aspirations.

What happened next remains a fun dispute between Leger-Walker and her new trainer.

Close took the opportunity to go after Leger-Walker as soon as she entered the transfer portal, and said she had trouble getting the point guard to return her letters. After being informed of her coach’s claim of Close’s presence near Big Ten media day, Leger-Walker expressed mock indignation.

“Oh my God, this is the most important thing to her,” Leger-Walker said. “I did – you can check your text message receipts.”

When Close burst into laughter, Leisure-Walker added: “I did. It may have been a few hours later, but I definitely texted her back. She’s overdoing it.”

Once she agreed to become a Bruin, the marginalized star became a de facto coach, not only recognizing her teammates’ tendencies but also encouraging them during practices and games.

By last February, having completed her long rehabilitation process, Leger-Walker faced a difficult decision: Should she return to help the Bruins compete for a national title or wait to return for a full season?

She chose the latter path, making everyone grateful for the extended opportunity to play together long before she dazzled with 11 assists and just two turnovers in the final scrimmage.

“To now be able to be in the backcourt with her and learn from her, she brings a lot of new things,” Rice said.

Said Bates: “I mean everyone knows she’s one of the best point guards in the whole country.”

Of course, being surrounded by so many skilled teammates can make things very easy for the Bruins’ new ballplayer. Leisure Walker knows that there will be moments when she can help her team almost reflexively.

Simply get the ball to Kneepkens outside the three-point line, where her shots are a coin flip.

“Maybe this will help,” Leger-Walker said.

Just throw the ball to Bates in the post, where she makes almost everything.

“Maybe this will help,” Leger-Walker said.

Rated as one of the best pass-catching guards her coach has ever seen, Leger-Walker was prepared for this moment. The monotony is over, those muscles are starting to work again, and it’s time to start winning.