ONALASKA — Mornings are for work, and afternoons are for workouts.
Aside from that, Aquinas High School graduate Lexi Donarski is trying to take advantage of a rare stretch of time at home before taking the first step in her professional basketball career.
“It’s weird,” said Donarski, who first played at Iowa State University before finishing at the University of North Carolina and has been home in Onalaska since graduating. “I haven’t been home for more than two weeks since I left for college.”
Donarski has had friends to see and time to spend with parents — sister Macy returned to the University of Montana in early summer — for a couple of months. She is also helping as an instructor at the Davis Brothers Basketball Camp at Central this week.
Donarski, Johnny Davis and Jordan Davis all led their high school teams — Johnny and Jordan won a WIAA state title at Central and Donarski did the same at Aquinas — before leaving the area for Division I careers.
But that local fun all ends on August 21, when Donarski leaves to tackle her next challenge.
Donarski has signed to play for the TFSE-MTA team that is based in Budapest and part of the Hungary A-Division after a college career that included 1,994 points over the course of 165 games with the Cyclones and Tar Heels.
It took Donarski less than one week after her final season to sign with agent Jeanne McNulty-King, and that’s where the hunt for an overseas fit began.
“She started talking to different teams,” Donarski said, “and said, ‘Look, I think this one has everything you are looking for.'”
Budapest is a big city, and TFSE-MTA is a successful team that plays a good brand of basketball.
“They like transition and run a lot,” she said. “They prioritize defense, and they are looking for a guard who can score and defend.”
Donarski has been able to do both of those things consistently while trying to build herself into a professional basketball player. She scored more than 2,000 points for the Blugolds before becoming a starter right off the bat at Iowa State.
Donarski scored 1,251 points and made 196 3-pointers over 95 games with the Cyclones and scored 743 points and hit 160 3s over 70 games with the Tar Heels.
To build on that during her time at home, Donarski has split her days into two halves. She has a job for the morning hours, and afternoon hours are consumed by workouts with the Davis family, her trainer or her dad, Dave.
Hungary’s A-Division season will begin its scheduled games in September.
“It’s a relief knowing where I’m going, knowing the travel and housing arrangement,” said Donarski, who receives an apartment near the team facility as part of her contract. “Since people found out I’m going there, I’ve only heard good things (about Budapest), but I will continue to research things more.
“I have a good list going from texts and messages I’ve been getting from people.”
In addition to exploring the area, Donarski is ready to show her new team what kind of player she is. From one who was recruited before high school began — she committed to Iowa State the summer before ninth grade — to one who competed in five NCAA Tournaments and averaged 12.4 points over 10 postseason games.
Donarski, who said she became comfortable taking uncomfortable shots in college, held a key role with her team each season as a regular starter and helped the Cyclones and Tar Heels win 116 games against 49 losses.
The Blugolds were 102-3 during her four seasons. Two of those wins were over Caitlin Clark and Dowling Catholic (Iowa), and two of the losses were to Paige Bueckers and Hopkins (Minn.).
Games of that caliber prepared Donarski for the college experience, and she believes what she did at Iowa State and North Carolina have her ready to be a professional.
