Arizona is getting ready for its final road trip of the regular season.
The eighth-ranked Wildcats will play at Washington on Friday night, then take on Washington State on Sunday afternoon. Friday marks the first matchup between the UA and last-place Washington this season; the teamsβ Jan. 9 game was postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Huskiesβ program. That game will not be made up.
The Huskies are 0-10 in Pac-12 play this season and have only five wins overall. Those totals can be deceiving: Washington battled Oregon to within seven points earlier this season; on Sunday, the Huskies lost to UCLA by eight points.
βTo me, honestly, the scariest teams to play are teams like Washington. Thereβs nothing to lose. They are hungry for a win,β Arizona coach Adia Barnes said Wednesday. βWe learned our lesson with Cal a couple of years ago, so (we) do not want to repeat that. I think for us, itβs (about) being focused. You treat everybody with respect, and we know we can get beat by Washington. We have to go in there and play well.β
This is the time of the year for upsets. To avoid suffering one, Arizona must play with a sense of urgency. A slow start in Fridayβs game against Arizona State led to a loss.
βThe learning lesson from Friday is we canβt just show up and think weβre going to win β thatβs not how it works,β Barnes said. βI think just moving forward, your approach to games, your focus during games from the get-go is extremely important. Every team in the Pac-12 is good, and every team can get a win. You see every year what happens; at the end of the year, Cal always upsets someone or Washington will upset someone. We saw in the Pac-12 Tournament β¦ It happens. You have to be ready for every single game.β
No pressure now
Barnes said her team isnβt feeling any pressure to return to the Final Four, even though β at No. 8 nationally and coming off an appearance in the national championship game β expectations are high.
βNo one is going to sit here in America and think, βOh, Arizona should go to the Championship game,ββ Barnes said. βI donβt think weβre there yet. I think that we have a good system and I think weβre playing was a team. I think weβve surprised people from where weβre at. I think no one in the world would have thought weβd be a top-10 team. I think that weβre learning and weβre getting better and Iβm hoping β¦ my goal is for us to catch the momentum at the right time and improve in the next three weeks, so we get hot again. Thatβs what we hope to do.β
Third timeβs a charm?
For the third consecutive year, Barnes has made the watch list for the Naismith Trophy Coach of the Year award. She was a finalist for the award two years ago; last year, she was a semifinalist.
The 15-person watch list includes Tara VanDerveer of Stanford; South Carolinaβs Dawn Staley; Kim Mulkey of LSU β and Kelly Rae Finley, a former UA assistant coach under Barnes whoβs now the acting coach at Florida.
Will this be Barnesβ year?
βIβm always on that list and never seem to win it. One day, maybe in 20 years, hopefully I can win it,β Barnes said with a laugh. βItβs great to be on the list with amazing coaches and people that are doing some tremendous things with their programs. Iβm just honored obviously, but you know, whenever youβre on the list with Tara, (UConn coach) Geno (Auriemma), or (South Carolina coach) Dawn (Staley), youβre like, βOK, Iβm not winning.β β¦ Itβs a good honor, because I would have never thought six years ago that (I) would have been on the list.β
If fifth year senior Sam Thomas had a vote, sheβd give it to Barnes.
βIβm a little biased, but I think sheβs an awesome coach,β Thomas said. βNot only just basketball skills, but sheβs also a mother. She cares about us as players; she worries about us off the court, makes sure weβre OK just checking in on us just as a normal mom would. Then obviously just what sheβs been able to do with this program in such a short amount of time. She took this place from six wins to now making it to the national championship (game). Sheβll say like, βOh, itβs the players, they help.β But we come here because of her, so itβs really a lot owed to her. I hope she does get it.β
Proud to be a role model
Barnesβ platform grew last spring, when she spoke up for working moms and working women while leading the Wildcats to the Final Four.
She said Wednesday itβs βreally cool to be a voiceβ for those groups.
Being a working mom is βvery hard,β Barnes said. βI understand why women canβt do it, because there are days, I donβt feel like I can, so I think that I understand that. I think it gives women hope and Iβm so happy for that.β
Barnes added that being a role model βis an honor, not a burden and you have to take that with pride.β
Of course, there are times when Barnes forgets that everyone is watching. Take the gray uniforms that the team wore recently.
βSome people loved it; a lot of people hate it,β Barnes said. βYou get 50 emails that they loved it and you get 50 that they hated it. Every decision has that.β
Rim shots
Thomas released a new Valentineβs Day T-shirt on her website, samthomas14.com. Thomas will donate 10% of proceeds from the βSpread Love the Sam Thomas Wayβ shirts to the Boys & Girls Club of Tucson.
βI feel like itβs my time to like give back and now that I have a little bit more money to give back, I feel like itβs a perfect opportunity with the clothing line,β Thomas said.
Expect more releases, including limited-edition basketball shorts, when the NCAA Tournament starts next month.
The trip to Pullman, Washington is among the most dreaded on the Wildcatsβ schedule. Why?
βItβs a weird trip,β Barnes said. βItβs cold there for us. Weβre not used to that. Itβs usually snowing. Itβs hard to (get to), but itβs β¦ itβs manageable. We got upset there last year. It (was) a very close game this year (in McKale Center). Theyβre a good team. I think theyβre a lot better than their record. They can score really well. Really hard to guard with a lot of shooters. Itβs just a tough trip.β
