Common sports sense says the largest improvement comes between an athlete’s freshman and sophomore seasons.
JaLea Bennett, a senior on the Arizona women’s basketball team, is proving that theory wrong.
Her transformation took place just last offseason, between her junior and senior years. In fact, it’s still happening.
The Arizona veteran’s game, both physically and mentally, has changed completely.
“She’s matured so much in the last year,” said Arizona coach Adia Barnes, whose Wildcats will play TCU on Friday at the Warner Center Marriott Thanksgiving Basketball Classic in Northridge, California. “She’s made a conscious effort to change and is like a different person. It’s great to see her grow. It is holistic growth from her confidence to the way she carries herself. And she’s improved her shooting, how she read things; she’s improved her rebounds; and she’s improved her decision-making. In all these ways she’s grown.
“I want to make her a better player; keep developing her to make her the best she can be here and so she can play after this. She’s so gifted. She has God-given talent and as she continues to develop she will be very difficult to guard. ”
Her development is noticeable:
•Bennett is averaging 28.6 minutes per game this season, up from 19.3 minutes per game a year ago.
•Bennett is averaging nearly 12 points per game, nearly double the 6.9 she put up a year ago.
•Bennett has four blocks in three games this season. She had six blocks all last season.
Last year, Bennett needed six games to get her season-high of six rebounds; this year, she did it in her second game.
Bennett is also getting her teammates involved. Whether it’s making an extra pass or passing down low to Destiny Graham for the easy turnaround shot. But Bennett is still taking her shot when it’s there.
“The big thing last year was that I was one-dimensional,” Bennett said. “Everyone knew I was driving. Now I am working on a pull up jumper to switch it up. My team needs me to score and if I am only driving teams will play me for that. I am also stepping it up finishing.”
Besides working on her game, Bennett spent the offseason in the weight room and changing her eating habits.
“I kinda told myself that if I ate better, imagine how much better I could be,” Bennett said, as she sipped on a spinach smoothie. “People like Coach Barnes and Cay (Manuel, UA performance enhancement coach) motivated me. I made a conscious effort changing my eating habits and getting after it in the weight room.
“A lot of people when they are tired they like to stop, but I’m putting in that extra effort, pushing myself to go harder, get stronger. It helps when pushing myself on the court when I’m tired. Now, it’s easier to stay on the court and run up and down.”
Bennett is also taking another message from her coach to heart this season: Focus on what’s next.
“My body language wasn’t always the best,” Bennett said. “Now I’m focusing on the next play instead of the last play. That’s the biggest thing. If I make a mistake on offense, I get it back on defense.”
Bennett is now showing the UA freshmen how it’s done. And they are definitely picking it up. In the home opener against Iona, Marlee Kyles made a mistake on offense and on the next defensive possession stole the ball.
Kyles isn’t the only one following Bennett’s lead. Last week, Bennett’s teammates gave her the “C” for team captain.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Bennett said. “I am putting in the hard work. My teammates look up to me and respect me. It’s motivating that my teammates believe in me.”
Being a leader is another part of her game she is working on. She talks to her coaches to see what she needs to improve on and what she’s doing well.
“I think it’s important to her to lead the younger players,” Barnes said. “She cares; she’s invested in this program. She made an effort to help the freshman because she didn’t have that as a freshman. So, it’s amazing to see. Leading isn’t easy, you have to be a good example, make tough decisions. Yet, she embraces it and wants it. I love this.”
So what’s Bennett’s motivation for her transformation? Why change this late in her career?
For one, she wants to see the program grow. For another, she wants to make the most of her senior season. Bennett sat out three games last season because of a concussion. When she returned, it took a while to get back into the rhythm of the game.
“When I was out, I was upset,” Bennett said. “Coming back, I wasn’t able to perform to the best of my ability. I was in my head a lot. It took a while to step outside of myself. I don’t really remember much from that time, but in one word it was disappointing. I was disappointed in myself. I am really hard on myself. In practice when I get mad, I am mad at myself.
“Definitely, sitting back now, it’s all the motivation I need. It’s my last year and the perfect opportunity to perform the way I am capable of and do big things this season.”
