By now, everyone knows about Jada Williams’ grit.
The sophomore will go head-to-head with anyone on the court – even if they are nearly a foot taller than her 5-8 inch frame.
Nothing and no one scares her on the court. That’s a fact.
We’ve seen her leap up to grab a rebound against the trees, go after a 50/50 ball with abandon, take a charge no matter who is coming directly at her – and each time bounces back up and claps. Williams is always ready to go.
That’s why when she rolled her ankle and was down on the far end of the court against GCU in the fourth quarter Thursday with a little more than seven minutes left in the game, and took a beat, everyone in McKale Center collectively held their breath.
It was even more nerve-wracking when UA performance coach Chris Allen picked up Williams and carried her into the locker room so UA trainer Bart Jameson could work on that right ankle.
However, for Williams, it was all part of the game. She wasn’t worried at all and just wanted to get back on the court and do what she does best to help her teammates.
Arizona Wildcats guard Jada Williams (2) gets pumped after drawing a foul off of a UT Arlington player in the first half during a game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 4, 2024.
“My end goal is I’ll deal with it later, like the last five minutes of the game, it’s five minutes. I can do anything for five minutes,” Williams said. “I can play for my team for five minutes. That’s my thought process.”
As Arizona (7-4) hosts CSU Bakersfield (0-8) Tuesday, her teammates will once again rely on their point guard to run the offense and just about everything else.
Williams did come back for the last five minutes and change, that’s exactly what she told Jameson and Allen. Basically, “Tape me up, there’s a lot I can do in five minutes.”
That play was typical Williams. She was boxing out on a free throw and her opponent fell over her. Williams said it was a normal old ankle sprain.
Williams spent the summer working on her ankle strength. Part of this is connected to a nagging right Achilles – which she called tendonitis from last season. There are many games when Williams comes off the court just to get re-tapped by Jameson. Part of this is finding the right tape job to support her ankle, but not bother her Achilles. It’s a balancing act.
Tarleton State forward Alani Fluker (23) crashes down on Arizona guard Jada Williams (2) after getting beat on the race to the loose ball in the third quarter of their game, Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 7, 2024.
“I’m just trying to do different tape jobs to where my Achilles doesn’t get swollen, basically,” Williams said. “Right now, I’m just taking the chance of rolling an ankle and not having Achilles pain 99% of the time. I take that chance of rolling an ankle, and I know that. (I’m) just going in getting re-taped (as) it just keeps my ankle still, I guess, and prevents that.”
Just like most basketball players, once the season starts, they just figure out a way to play with the little nagging things. This includes Williams’ teammate Paulina Paris, who shared that it’s taking longer to heal her broken nose because the games and practices just keep coming. Paris is not alone as Sue Bird, former WNBA player – and former teammate of Adia Barnes on the 2004 Seattle Storm Championship squad – played with a mask multiple times during her career after breaking her nose.
Rafael Nadal may be one of the most noticeable athletes who played with foot tendonitis. He adapted how he played and even utilized different recovery and training methods to help.
Many athletes don’t talk about what ails them, but just as Williams is the communicator on the court, she is off the court, as well.
Arizona guard Jada Williams (2) gets in a foot race to the ball with UNLV guard Kiara Jackson (3) late in their game, Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 12, 2024.
For Williams, she does a lot to get ready to play a game, practice and for recovery. All for the love of the game, as well as her teammates and coaches.
“I do toe yoga, things like that, just trying to strengthen my feet, strengthen the muscles, the bones around my feet, so that’s something I always work on,” Williams said. “I’m in the training room every single day for a couple hours just trying to take care of my body. I do play a lot of minutes. So cold tubs, cryotherapy, I’m living in there every single day.”
Cryotherapy is known to reduce swelling, pain and increase circulation to, in Williams’ case, her entire foot.
Williams also has a routine after the game. She admits that on Friday morning her right ankle was swollen, “but I’ve got a good support system.”
“I have a little puppy at home (Deuce), so I get to go home to him and kind of forget about basketball for a little bit,” Williams said. “I go home, decompress, I try not to think about the game. Sometimes I’ll come in here (McKale) and shoot. If I miss a lot of free throws or something like that, I’ll come in and get shots up. But injury wise, just go home, decompress and then watch the film the next day.”
Arizona Wildcats guard Jada Williams (2) sinks the ball in the net during the match against GCU at the McKale Center, Dec. 5, 2024.
Williams has adjusted to all of it – the taping and the re-taping, the different types of recovery and even not putting in a ton of extra reps. While she said the tendonitis hasn’t affected her shot – and if you look at her feet when she shoots a free throw, takes a 3, a jumper or even a layup, nothing has changed – she is putting up fewer of those extra shots outside of practice like she did in the offseason. During that time, she was hitting 45% or so of her attempts in practice.
Williams said her goal is just to be on the court, “because my leadership carries over, and my leadership being out there, even if I’m not scoring, I know I got heart on defense, and I talk a lot and things like that. Just help my teammate any way I can.”
On those charges, Williams just shrugs and says that she’s been taking charges since she was in fourth or fifth grade and just knows how to do it and knows whatever hurts “don’t fall like that again.”
“That’s my heart, my mental toughness,” Williams said. “I’ll sacrifice my body if that’s what I have to do. That’s just something that I’ve always done, no matter if it’s a board game, anything like that. I’m just competitive. So that’s what I got to do to win, I’ll do it.”
