As good as A’dia Mathies was in her sophomore campaign, she was never quite herself. Mathies averaged 12.8 points and 4.7 rebounds while also dishing out a team-high 89 assists, but she had to contend with a back injury that limited her much of the second half of the season.  For much of the summer, the trouble with her back persisted. Mathies struggled to cope with the injury and regain her confidence even when she did begin to heal. Recently, though, a light has come on.”Right before we started practicing at the beginning of October, she really got some clarity on how she was feeling and some trust in herself and being able to perform at a high level, and she has just been fantastic in practice,” head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “She has really practiced at a level that encourages me greatly.”No one is more encouraged by her play than Mathies herself. She was held under double figures in scoring four of UK’s final nine games by her balky back, something opponents had managed to do just five times over the first 25 games of the season. Heading into the 2011-12 season, Mathies couldn’t be happier to have a clean bill of health.”I feel like I’m 100-percent,” Mathies said. “I’m doing everything with no aches and no pains. I never had an injury before, so something like this I didn’t expect.”Making things even tougher for the Louisville, Ky., native a season ago was a move to point guard in January in place of the injured Amber Smith. Mathies adjusted well to playing away from her natural position, leading the team to a second-place finish in the Southeastern Conference, the finals of the SEC Tournament and a second consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament, but she welcomes Smith’s return for her fifth year.”We really need her and we needed her last year,” Mathies said. “I tried to step in her role and I couldn’t do it as well as she does even though I tried. She brings back a lot of positive energy. She’s a great leader and a motivational person.”Returning to the wing, Mathies will have more opportunities to score the ball, which is what she does better than anyone else on the roster.”When you’re a point guard, your main role is to facilitate the team and try to get everybody else in scoring position,” Mathies said. “Me going back to my regular position and being able to score will help us out a lot because I think that’s what I do very well.”Mitchell still expects Mathies to play point guard occasionally, which she will be happy to do. Even if she doesn’t, she’ll intends to apply many of the lessons she learned at the position last season.”You have to know everything that’s happening on the court, what the coach wants from you and what the players need,” Mathies said. “I think playing the point guard position really helped me.”Most of all, Mathies is using the leadership skills she picked up at point guard as she makes the transition from precocious youngster to veteran upperclassman.”(Leadership is) something that’s needed,” Mathies said. “Now I’m in my third year and over half the team is younger than me so I have to talk more and show them the way.”