By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Instead of piling up points and assists, Kayla McPherson’s Carolina career has included periods of pain, healing and setbacks, confronting all with the determination that made her one of the country’s top high school point guards.
Since the No. 17 player in the Class of 2021 and McDonald’s All-American arrived in Chapel Hill after leading the nation in scoring (36.1 points per game) as a junior, she’s had four surgeries and plenty of heartbreak.
“I think you can only imagine how tough it is physically, but I don’t think anybody understands how hard it is mentally,” said McPherson, a redshirt junior, during the Monday afternoon taping of the “Holding Court with Courtney Banghart” radio show (you can hear it here; the McPherson segment starts at 7:44) at the Sheraton Chapel Hill.
McPherson, who also had knee surgery in high school, went 800 days between her last high school game and her college debut as a redshirt freshman on Jan. 29, 2023, in a 69–58 win at Clemson. When No. 13 UNC hosts Wake Forest on Thursday, that will be 419 days since her last game, the Tar Heels’ 65–58 home loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 30, 2023, her third consecutive start.
“I was a high-level basketball player coming out of high school, and my dream was to come in here, make a difference and just play basketball because that’s what I love to do,” said McPherson, who had games with 64 points and 63 points during her career at Madison County High School in Hull, Ga. “So, I think it was probably hard on me mentally to kind of have to step into a new role coming out of the surgeries.”
Instead of the quick point guard who constantly pushes the pace offensively, is a menace on the defensive end and makes a difference on the court, she’s been an animated cheerleader on the bench during games and has helped the coaching staff during practices.
“I think after my first surgery, I didn’t really understand how strong I was,” McPherson said, “and it [was] kind of me being through all these battles, kind of showing myself, ‘Kayla, you’re a strong individual, and you can do whatever you want to if you put your mind to it.’ So, I’ve kind of just kind of stayed with that over the last four years.”
After the South Carolina game, UNC’s sports performance staff thought something was off, and an MRI revealed some startling news.
“I didn’t really have cartilage in my knee,” McPherson said. “My cartilage got to a point where it was tore down, and it was, again, just unsafe for me to be pushing off and jumping up in the air.”
After consulting with head athletic trainer Jodi Schneider, Coach Banghart and Dr. Jeffrey Spang, they decided that a cartilage transplant on her left knee — a tibial tubercle osteotomy — was needed.
“Basically, they moved my kneecap over to the right,” McPherson said. “It either happened from birth or just over the last years of a bunch of my surgeries. My kneecap was rubbing on the wrong side, which was causing that cartilage to break down.”
Fans got a glimpse of her potential in her fifth career game, when she collected 22 points, four 3-pointers and six rebounds, all career-highs, to go along with three assists in UNC’s 73–55 home victory over Boston College on Feb. 12, 2023. Even in that game, she came out of the game holding her shoulder before returning.
Banghart marvels at how McPherson has handled all the adversity.
“She’s really matured into a special woman,” Banghart said. “She’s really evolved. She knows more about her journey and her value and her place in a way that is inspiring. Also watching her strength of character, going through that journey of missing so much on the court and never making the team suffer from it.
“It’s never been about Kayla. It’s been about this team, this sport, this program, this place,” Banghart said. “I think that matters. It matters on a macro scale, and it matters every day on a micro scale.”
There wasn’t much publicly released information about McPherson this season other than that she had a lower-body injury, was running, and hoped to return at some point. That changed when she posted about her situation on Instagram last week because of the number of concerned fans who were asking about her.
“I think the reason I wanted to share is because of the amount of text messages I get,” said McPherson, who included the above image of her left knee in the post. “I kind of feel bad not saying anything. I have nothing to hide. My journey is my journey, and I want to share that with the people.”
The passionate post came after she and her girlfriend, former teammate Ally Zelaya — who is playing her fifth college season at UNCW — discussed it and planned the post.
Her heartfelt post, accompanied by an X-ray image of her knee, read:
“In technical terms it was an Osteochondral allograft with tibial tubercle osteotomy, or, a donor transplant replacement of cartilage with realignment — that being said… The past couple of years have been filled with pain, setbacks, and questions I couldn’t answer. I’ve been hurt more than I ever imagined, and seeing the inside of my knee during this journey has been … a lot. The cuts, the surgeries, the healing — it’s all been draining. But you know what hasn’t left? My love for basketball.
“Every single day, I’m putting in the work to get back to the game that has my whole heart. To Dr. Spang, the sports medicine team and performance staff — your hard work and care mean everything. To my family, friends, and everyone who’s stood by me — thank you for your faith and support. And to God and the universe—you’ve given me the strength to believe.
“I don’t have all the answers yet, but I do know this: I’m staying positive, and plan to return. Until then, sit back and watch me rebuild.” 🤞🏽#TrustTheProcess#OneDayAtATime#MACX
In addition to classes in her fourth academic year at UNC, as a communications major with a minor in conflict management, she typically meets with Schneider for treatment in the morning. After classes and lunch, she practices her shooting before heading to the hot tub. Later, she lifts weights; after practice, it’s time for more recovery. She also uses a toe-spreader because, she says, she has “really bad feet.”
McPherson hopes to play again someday but knows that her love of the game will likely lead to a coaching career.
“Being injured, sadly, it’s kind of put me in a different light and given me a different perspective of basketball, and I’ve really enjoyed it, so I’ve kind of fallen in love with coaching,” McPherson said.
The UNC fanbase has also fallen in love with McPherson and hopes to see her in a Carolina uniform again at some point — or perhaps on the coaching staff.
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