SAN ANTONIO — Adia Barnes knows what it feels like to win a championship as a player, having taken home the 2004 WNBA title as a member of the Seattle Storm.
Before her Wildcats traveled to San Antonio and the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 16 years, she wanted her players to have that same feeling.
“I’m really big on visualization and envisioning yourself in the moment,” Barnes said.
That meant cutting down the net in McKale Center after Selection Monday. The Wildcats played Queen’s “We Are the Champions” on the Jumbotron, had poppers on the floor and celebrated. Each player took their turn cutting down a piece of the net; Barnes did, too.
“Symbolically we had to bring a piece of the net to the Final Four,” Barnes said. “We had to say … what we were going to bring to achieve this goal on the court, off the court; (what) we were going to give to our team. I thought it was special.”
It worked. After Monday night’s game, the Wildcats cut down another net — this one for winning the Mercado Region and advancing to the program’s first-ever Final Four.
Third-seeded Arizona will face top-seeded UConn on Friday night.
“We envisioned it,” Barnes said, “and then we lived it.”
Barnes is not the first to do this. Former Notre Dame men’s coach Digger Phelps did it the week before his team took on traditional powerhouse UCLA in the 1970s. It worked.
N.C. State men’s coach Jim Valvano did it in 1983, when his unheralded team won a national title.
Sound familiar?
The Wildcats can cut down more nets Monday. This time, it’d be for winning a national championship.
Overpacking for San Antonio
The Wildcats have been in San Antonio for more than two weeks. That’s a long time — and a ton of clothes.
The assignment of packing for the NCAA Tournament fell to Jessika Carrington, UA’s director of operations.
On a typical road trip, Carrington provides the players and staff a list of their daily activities and what outfits they will wear — all the way down to the shoes they will be wearing.
This time, packing was a bigger deal.
Carrington gave players a list with photos of what they would wear every day. Every player brought three pairs of shoes, T-shirts and lots of sweatsuits.
“(Jessika) put on our weekly calendar to start laundry like four days in advance, (that way) everyone has everything,” Sam Thomas said.
Thomas, the most orderly of the bunch, said she still had some decisions to make.
“It was fun packing — especially knowing if you only bring a little travel-size toothpaste, you have to think about it. Like, ‘I might need a whole pack because we’re going to be here for three weeks max,’” she said. “You have to pack for three weeks, but then overpack because you never know what’s gonna happen.”
Players were also told to bring something to remind them of home. Thomas brought Play-Doh — she likes to have something in her hands and likes the smell — and one of the toys belonging to her dog, Proxy.
Fortunately for the Wildcats, there is also laundry on site in San Antonio — eight washers and dryers located in trailers. Their workout clothes, uniforms and other gear is regularly cleaned.
Not intimidated
The Wildcats all grew up watching UConn win national championships over and over again. It’s only natural that they would feel somewhat awed by planning the storied program.
Cate Reese admits that while Friday’s showdown with a “surreal feeling,” it’s just another game. UConn is favored by 13.5 points, according to FanDuel.
“At the end of the day, they’re a team, they put their shoes on the same way that we do,” Reese said. “I think we need to keep that in mind. And just remember that we’re out there just to do the same thing that they are — to win.”
Aari McDonald, who had the best performances in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight since Mississippi’s Arminite Herrington in 2007, isn’t backing down from this challenge. She’s looking forward to guarding UConn’s Paige Bueckers, the national player of the year.
“She’s a talented player. I’ll give her that, but I’m going to make it hard for her to score and I’m really excited to defend her,” McDonald said. “… They’re a talented team … and we’re up for the challenge. We’re just going to go out there and play solid 40 minutes.”
McDonald said no team — or person — will stand in her way.
“Even if my mom was in the way, I’ve got to knock her over to try to get to that,” she said. “But I’m really excited to face UConn; really excited.”
Extra motivation?
On the eve of the Final Four, the NCAA posted a hype video of photo shoots from the teams participating in the Final Four.
Well, three of them. Arizona wasn’t included.
Thomas retweeted the NCAA’s post with the following note: “THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE. WE ARE ACTUALLY STILL IN THE FINAL FOUR AND WILL BE PLAYING AGAINST UCONN ON FRIDAY AT 6:30 MST.”
Rim shots
- Arizona is the first non-No. 1 or No. 2 seed to make the Final Four since 2016, when No. 4 Syracuse and No. 7 Washington made it. Barnes was an assistant for UW that year.
- The NCAA did remember to include Arizona in the personalized video shoutouts that fans can sign up for. Former Wildcat Ify Ibekwe joins Stanford Chiney Ogwumike, South Carolina’s Alisha Gray and UConn’s Napheesa Collier.
- Former UA standout Brenda Pantoja has been selected as one of 11 refs for the Final Four.
