Adia Barnes is a first-time head coach in the NCAA Tournament. But she’s been here before.
As a player, Barnes led the 1998 Wildcats to the Sweet 16 — further than any other Arizona squad in history. As an assistant coach at Washington in 2016, Barnes was on the bench when the Huskies made a run to the Final Four. (Days later, she was named Arizona’s head coach).
Barnes will talk to her players about the experience leading up to Monday’s tournament opener against Stony Brook.
“I’m trying to get them to visualize what it’s like in a normal year with thousands of people walking around, all the festivities, all the excitement, the whole city shuts down for the tournament,” Barnes said.
Only three players on the UA roster have NCAA Tournament experience. Aari McDonald played her freshman year at Washington, and the Huskies made it to the Sweet 16. Bendu Yeaney advanced to the second round with Indiana two years ago, and Shaina Pellington played in the first round with Oklahoma three years ago.
Their experience helps Arizona’s first-timers. UA forward Cate Reese said Barnes’ experience both playing and coaching has had an especially big impact.
“There are not many coaches out there that have played specifically at the school they are coaching at — I think that that’s great,” Reese said. “But also her having some inside view of being at the tournament. ... I think that that’s really helpful for all of us, especially with such a weird year coming in here, especially with the pandemic, we all feel a little bit isolated. I think that’s great to have her insight into everything.”
While things may look a little different, especially being on a little stricter lockdown than the Wildcats are used to — no hanging out in their teammate’s rooms, no stopping in the hotel’s gift shop, no getting coffee in the lobby — they are still having fun.
Mississippi State guard Morgan William drives past Washington guard Aarion McDonald, left, during the second half of a regional semifinal of the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament, Friday, March 24, 2017, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Barnes has helped to break some of the boredom. When the team was finally allowed to eat meals together in their assigned large conference room, Barnes had a little something in mind.
“We played, I think it’s called heads up — you know, the phone where you flip it … you have to ask questions and act it out like charades,” she said.
“I’m trying to make it fun. We gave them a gift bag downstairs full of stuff and essentials for the tournament here. I’m trying to do what we can.
“We’re fine and we’re enjoying the moment. … We’re happy that no one tested positive. We’re, like, ready to go.
“I think that all that stuff is just kind of the other stuff — the noise. We’re focused on what we need to do.”
A new look
Barnes says her team has a different focus already.
“I think there’s an excitement. There’s just a different look in their eyes,” Barnes said. “Practice is a lot sharper — it’s less time. Some players are probably happy because we only have a set 90 minutes. They’re probably so excited about that. But there’s just a focus, it’s clicking, we’re going faster, everything’s moving smoother. That tells me there’s more of a focus. I think we’re, it’s just tournament time. I think it at this point, everybody steps up a little bit.”
Resilient Cats
Reese said perseverance has helped her team get through a year unlike any other.
“There are so many different obstacles that not only us, but every team has to get past,” Reese said. “I think that we’ve done a great job. When we were shut down for a little bit, we didn’t really look at that as a negative, we came together.
“I think our chemistry got better during that week. There have been so many different things that we’ve had to get over. …(We) just stuck together as a team.
“At the end of the day, we get to play basketball. I think that’s one of the most important things. That’s just what we have to keep in mind. I think that being resilient every day has really helped.”
