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Mater Dei’s Kaeli Wynn smiled and chatted with well-wishers as she left the Meruelo Athletic Center on crutches and her leg in a stiff brace.
The South Carolina basketball signee held her head high Saturday after the Matt Denning Hoops Classic as she discussed her recovery from a Dec. 3 surgery that wiped out her senior season.
“I have a lot of positivity in me,” Wynn said. “This is just my path. I’ve had a lot of time to accept that. Obviously, behind closed doors, I might be a little different and there were some days where they weren’t my brightest but that just comes with it.”
“I’m just taking it one day at a time,” she added. “And that’s the only thing that I can do is continue to work forward for my future, and that’s the only thing I want to think of. Dwelling on the past won’t help me. Dwelling on my situation won’t help me, won’t help my teammates. I try to stay as strong as possible for them but some days it’s really hard.”
“The first couple games, when (I was) walking out and (thought), ‘I’m never going to put on my uniform this year. Never going to put my shoes on. Never going to warm up.’ Those kind of thoughts came through my head.”
Wynn, a 6-foot-1 forward and two-time first-team All-County forward, suffered a dislocated kneecap late last season. She said she underwent surgery on Dec. 3 to reconstruct a ligament on the side of her knee. The procedure, she said, included an adjustment of her tibia to help her knee.
Buoyed by her Christian faith and the support of family and friends, Wynn is eagerly looking forward to beginning physical therapy later this month. Her goal is to play as a freshman next season at South Carolina.
“I just got to get in rehab and get my quad (muscle) back, my calf (muscle) back,” she said. “I’m encouraged to work hard. I have a lot of future to look forward to. I’m really just so excited to get to Columbia (S.C.) and start working.”
In the meantime, Wynn is taking statistics for Mater Dei during games. She also is reading a book that she received from her grandmother for Christmas.
The book is on South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, who counts Wynn as her first high school recruit from California.
“I’m reading (the book) and I was, ‘Wow. I get to learn from this person,’ ” Wynn said of Staley. “I’m pushing myself to be with the best players, play against the best competition and be coached by the best coach in the nation.”
SHORT SHOTS
Former Rosary standout Asia Avinger is now an assistant coach at Fairmont Prep. The former San Diego State and Georgia guard said she is interested in pursuing coaching. …
Fairmont Prep seniors Adyra Rajan (Harvard commit) and Sarah Aldeguer (Princeton) are both less than 10 points shy of reaching 2,000 and 1,000 points, respectively, for their careers. …
San Juan Hills senior Adelyn Boberg and Villa Park senior Bailey Roczey recently notched their 1,000th career points. …
El Modena (17-0) takes an undefeated record into its North Hills League opener at Pacifica (3-13) on Tuesday.