Leger-Walker back for UCLA championship run

The wait is over: Elite playmaker and passer is eager to help after overcoming leg injury.

- By Ben BoLcH

CHARLISSE LEGER-WALKER, a transfer from Washington State, gives the Bruins another veteran.

(STEPHEN BRASHEAR Associated Press)

There was so much more to this comeback than the monotony ofit all.

Sure, Charlisse Leger-Walker had to teach her quadriceps muscle to fire again, the UCLA point guard sitting in her room connecting her mind to her body so that her thigh would tense up, strengthening it just abit more.

She had to learn how to walk again, run again, jump again, often rising two hours before her teammates so that she could get the work in on the anti-gravity machine and other weight training devices that would put her one step closer to playing again after a devastating knee injury.

Focusing on all those muscle groups eventually left the graduate transfer feeling stronger than ever. She spent so much time on her shooting, hoisting one three-pointer after another, that she developed the most consistency on her touch she’s felt during a decorated career in which she was an All-Pac-l2 player at Washington State before going down on that terrible late January day inside Pauley Pavilion.

Maybe the biggest benefit of being sidelined for almost 1'/2 seasons came in her new grasp of the game. Watching from the bench allowed her to develop a more nuanced understanding of coach Cori Close’s system and which spots onthe court gave each teammate a higher chance of scoring.

“T knew coming back this season,” Leger-Walker said, “that’s going to be a big part of my role on the team is making sure people are in thebest positions to succeed and really understanding howIcanmake the individual pieces of our team come together better collectively.”

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