'Date nights' helping Arizona Wildcats teammates bond before start of 2019-20 season

Date nights are usually reserved for couples, not basketball teams.

But they’re part of the Arizona Wildcats’ playbook.

“At first, I was like, ‘Mmmm, OK,’” freshman guard Tara Manumaleuga siad. “But it was good fun with our teammates.”

Throughout the preseason, coach Adia Barnes paired off different players with instructions to share a meal, take a picture and send it to her. The meals break down barriers and help teammates understand each other better, with the hope that it carries over onto the court. It’s especially important with this year’s team, which includes players from the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, Latvia, Turkey and Iceland.

The Wildcats take on Eastern New Mexico in an exhibition game Sunday afternoon. Arizona’s season starts Nov. 5 with a game against North Dakota.

Barnes said she has “different reasons” for the pairings.

“Some because they really didn’t know each other well, and some because I want someone to bring someone else along,” she said. “… Some are different personalities, and I know they would not ever go to dinner together — maybe as a group, but not as individuals.”

Barnes paired up former roommates Lucia Alonso and Tee Tee Starks, and the result was a surprisingly deep connection for two players who thought they knew each other well.

“We have that friendship-relationship …but it didn’t necessarily go deeper than that,” Starks said. “So, with these date night opportunities, we’ve had the opportunity to go deeper than on the surface type of stuff.”

Alonso said she and Starks are much closer now that they’ve had a chance to bond. The two learned more about each other’s families, and Starks picked up an interesting bit of information about Spain from the Leon-born Alonso.

“Lu said that they eat a lot of Octopus in Spain. I was like, ‘What?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, it’s so good. Tee, you have to come visit,’” Starks said. “I was like, ‘OK, but I don’t know if I’ll be trying any octopus.’”

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Date nights are just the latest off-court bonding activity for a UA team looking to build off its WNIT championship. In the past few months, Barnes has arranged for her team to take an etiquette class. The Wildcats also participated in The Program, a military-style training course, and have been taking yoga classes. The goal: growth as both athletes and people.

Amari Carter, a graduate transfer from Penn State, used her meals as a chance to get to know teammates Cate Reese and Mara Mote. She said she’s been “learning about them more and understanding them more as people.”

“You can get it but not much in a group setting, so having those one-on-one conversations is really good for that,” Carter said. “With Cate, we talked about her family and how she grew up. She just got to college — her second year, my fifth. Just learning how she’s been navigating that.”

Manumaleuga ate with Dominique McBryde, who told her of her love of the Jonas Brothers. She also went out with Shaina Pellington, an Ontario, Canada, native who transferred to the UA from Oklahoma.

“I learned a bit about Canada,” said Manumaleuga, who grew up in Queensland, Australia. “She’s a chill person. I feel like she’s like me off the court. We mind our business, don’t get into stuff.”

Starks said that the date nights help the Wildcats be mindful of others and inclusive, two things that Barnes has emphasized.

“I’ve seen people come out of their shells. I feel like that’s rewarding for me,” Starks said. “I’m doing my job to get to know them, so they feel comfortable around me to open up — to see them be their authentic selves.”

Rim shots

• Guard Aari McDonald has been named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list for the top shooting guard. Five of the 20 players on the list play in the Pac-12 — McDonald, Minyon Moore (Oregon), Kiana Williams (Stanford), Stephanie Watts (USC) and Amber Melgoza (Washington). McDonald was also named to the media’s preseason All-Pac-12 team. She was joined by Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard, UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere and Oregon State’s Mikayla Pivec.

• Forward Cate Reese has been named to the Katrina McClain Award watch list for the nation’s top power forward. Hebard and Stanford’s Fran Belibi are the only other Pac-12 players on the list.