How Mary-Anna Asare’s growth is powering VCU this season

“Mary, just being Mary, they created a spot for her, a roster spot, so that … she could keep that intensity up and help them,” VCU head coach Beth O’Boyle told The Next. “And when you get to play for your national team, it’s so amazing. And so they created her a spot. I think that says a lot about her. And then when she got to come back, it wasn’t just about Mary’s experience, it was about how could she share that with our team?” 

Though she faced a lot of challenges during the training camp, Asare brought lessons about leadership, the importance of being vocal and what it takes to play professionally back with her to VCU where she’s the team captain this season. O’Boyle has enjoyed seeing Asare’s confidence increase and her grow as a leader as she’s watched her talk on and off the floor as well as in timeouts. “It takes growth and confidence to put yourself out there and to be vulnerable at times,” she said. “And she has definitely done that.”

Redshirt junior Adebukola Akomolafe is also proud of how Asare has come out of her shell and grown into a leadership role, remembering the reserved freshman she first met who is now talkative and full of laughter. 

“Her voice has definitely been the glue to our team,” Akomolafe told The Next. “With the little lows that we have, just having her be able to talk and contribute I guess her standards of what she wants for the team in that way makes it really clear … what our goals should be throughout the season, which is very refreshing and keeps us on track.”

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This season, Asare has stepped into a primary point guard role, something she had done while playing with Canada Basketball and a little bit last year in tandem with current Maryland guard Sarah Te-Biasu. O’Boyle believes that Asare has one of the most challenging roles on the team, primarily running the point and sometimes stepping off, while also being responsible for guarding the opposing team’s best player. She thinks that Asare’s ability to do it all comes from her commitment to watching film and her individual workouts, fueled by a desire to help the team succeed. 

In the offseason, Asare focused on learning different reads to make off of ball screens and how to get her teammates their best shots. So far this season, the most difficult part of adjusting to her new role has been how much decision-making goes into a 40-minute game. She’s not just looking for shots for herself, she’s also making sure her teammates get good shots as well while trying to limit her turnovers. 

Akomolafe has seen the extra work Asare has put in to be prepared to play as the point guard, from early morning workouts to late-night shooting sessions and the drive she has to be the best in the position she’s playing. “She is so competitive in a good way,” Akomolafe said. “If you’re on her team, you know that you’re gonna win. [It’s] something that’s been consistent through her being a freshman to now, to her junior year.”

Asare has started 58 of her 70 games so far at VCU and is proud of herself for adding something to her game every season. From her freshman year to her sophomore year she added 3-point shooting to her driving ability. After shooting just 18.2% from behind the arc as a freshman, she spent the summer of 2023 looking at the rim as she shot, holding her follow through and working on the little things. Her hard work paid off and as a sophomore she shot 40.4% on 3-pointers. The improvements continued this season. Asare is shooting a career-high 43.1%, from behind the arc while shooting a career-high 4.8 3-pointers per game. 

This season, in addition to adding shooting 3-pointers off the dribble, she’s stepped up as a vocal leader for the team. It’s a “nerve-wracking” experience for her, but she’s found it rewarding. She urges her teammates to shoot with confidence, reminding them that if it goes in, that’s great and if it doesn’t, her four teammates on the court will go in for the offensive rebound. Asare has relished seeing her teammates’ confidence rise. 

“It makes me feel like I’m doing something right,” she said. “Because, I’ll sometimes as captain, [be] like ‘Oh, maybe I’m not talking enough. Maybe I’m not being the best leader for my team.’ But then, it’s just like, seeing that my words kind of have an impact on others, and seeing that they’re taking it [or] they’re being like, ‘yeah, you know, Mary’s right,’ and they’re actually starting to have confidence on the court. … [I]t’s very rewarding. I’m just like, ‘Okay, I’m doing something right,’ even if it’s something little. Giving someone else life just makes it the best feeling ever. Seeing other people playing their best basketball is a great feeling.” 

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Asare said she found basketball by accident. She began playing basketball the summer before she started eighth grade, having played a wide range of sports including soccer, volleyball, track, cross country and flag football. She first planned to pursue soccer but after fracturing her shin, the sport wasn’t the same. Her French teacher was the first one to tell her she was good at basketball and from there she started going to camps and continuing to compete. 

She took a class on law in 11th grade and found she was interested in the Canadian law system and is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. After nixing her initial idea to become a lawyer because it required too much talking, she’s narrowed her career paths to forensic psychology, rehabilitation and crime scene investigation even though she doesn’t expect to be done with basketball any time soon.

Outside of school and basketball, she enjoys reading her Bible, especially in nature as well as writing short stories and poetry, and believes her imagination and creativity in her writing have helped her imagine scenarios in live play. 

On and off the court, O’Boyle sees the passion and dedication Asare exudes. “I think her passion comes out in her friendships,” O’Boyle said. “It comes out with her family. It comes out with the game that she loves. I think it really is about your actions and who you are. And I think Mary does that in every piece of her life. And then I think she’s dedicated. She’s dedicated to her classroom and her schoolwork, she does excellent there. Same thing. She’s dedicated to the relationships that she has. And she’s dedicated to helping herself get better and has a really high level of personal excellence. When you have that, I think it’s in everything that you do. And so it’s why she’s so successful on the court, in the classroom and then in her relationships too.”  

The Rams are a top-15 team in scoring defense in Division I and were fourth in Division I last season. O’Boyle believes that the younger players watching Asare anchor the defense has helped VCU remain one of the best defensive teams in the country. Asare enjoys the challenge of finding new ways to disrupt when she’s playing defense, especially when she’s guarding someone one-on-one. She aims to hold players under their season average and looks to make opposing players frustrated when they can’t get off their best shot. 

“I think when people look at that on the team, they’re like, ‘Okay, Mary’s defense is going’ so I try to get everyone else’s defense going, because … once you play team defense you’re really unstoppable,” Asare said. “… [D]efense fuels offense so if we can get out in transition, run through passing lanes, get steals, I feel like that’s the best way to contribute stops into points.”

Asare has scored in double figures in all but two games this season and is averaging 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game, all career highs. Her favorite part of the season has been seeing her teammates step into new roles. While it has been frustrating at times, she’s enjoyed seeing the team grow, especially offensively. She knows the team’s potential and is excitedly anticipating when the team can put all of the pieces together. “[It’s been] keeping me on my toes,” she said. “It’s just like, ‘oh, is it this game? Is it this game?’ It’s very exciting that way.”  

VCU wrapped up its nonconference slate with a 6-6 record and Asare wants VCU to make noise in the A-10. The team is scheduled to open Atlantic 10 play against Saint Joseph’s, who was picked second in the preseason poll, on Dec. 29 in Philadelphia.

The Rams collectively decided to have no regrets when the season ends and give it their all throughout the season, looking to win their first A-10 championship since 2021. “We know that in order to do that, it’s gonna take all of us,” Asare said. “And it’s gonna require us to play our best basketball because at the end of the day, it’s not how much talent we have, but how we play together as a team.”

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