The Arizona Wildcats rolled into Tuesday morning’s Pac-12 Media Day with a collective smile on their faces.
The Athletic had just published a story calling the seventh-ranked Wildcats a Final Four team. Aari McDonald and Cate Reese were named to the preseason Naismith Trophy watch list.
An hour later, No. 7 Arizona was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 by the media and league coaches, their highest placement since 2004.
McDonald, Reese and Sam Thomas were named to the preseason media all-conference team. And McDonald was named to the Wade Trophy watch list.
Then reality hit.
“These types of things show how far our program has come, but we’re playing in a week and we don’t have an opponent,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said. “Now, it’s time to get to work and with so much uncertainty, you forget this and move on. My job now is to prepare us the best I can, and it’s just challenging right now.”
The Wildcats can open their season as soon as Nov. 25, but as of now, they have nobody to play until Dec. 4. Two nonconference opponents have canceled on them because of the coronavirus pandemic. Finding replacements has been so hard that Barnes turned to Twitter to ask schools if they want to come to Tucson.
Filling out a schedule is “something we can’t control,” Barnes said. “We’ll do our best to get the best games. … our team is ready to play. They’re excited. We just want to play. Right now, we don’t even know who we’re playing in a week, but we don’t care, when we get a game, it’ll happen. It’s just going to take time. Things are going to be different this year. And that’s OK, but the main thing is we want to just get on the floor.”
McDonald and Reese are among nine Pac-12 athletes on the Naismith’s Top 50, joining UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere; Stanford’s Kiana Williams, Lexie Hull and Kiana Williams; USC’s Alissa Pili; and Oregon State’s Aleah Goodman.
Three things about Arizona
Barnes took part in a roundtable Tuesday morning alongside Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and Cal’s Charmin Smith.
During a media Q&A session, Barnes was asked what three things she wanted people across the country to know about Arizona.
“The first thing is we’re going to play a fun style,” Barnes said. “We’re gonna get up and down the floor. We’re going to play fast — watching Aari and just the way she pushes the ball and some good surrounding cast around her. The second thing is, we’re gonna get down and dirty and play defense. We’re going to pressure; we’re going to demand a lot defensively and just create points from our defense.
“I think the third thing is, is we’re not only going to rely on Aari. I think Aari has been someone who has carried our team on her back. She’s been someone that has just been dynamic on both ends of the floor, but she’s just such a leader and she’s really elevated the game of her teammates around her.
“With the supporting cast of Cate Reese — I think one of our players that’s really underrated is Sam Thomas. She’s good on both ends, and she’s going to help us a lot. And then we’ve added Shana Pellington, who is great in the backcourt. We have another transfer, that’s a fifth year from Virginia Tech, Trinity Baptiste. With all those pieces, I expect us to just be more balanced this year and play an exciting style.”
Using basketball as a platform for good
Players in the WNBA and NBA have continued to use the power of their platform to bring awareness to social justice causes.
Many Pac-12 women’s basketball teams are stepping up as well. UCLA started a program — More than a D.R.E.A.M. — that focuses on social injustice initiatives.
Smith talked Tuesday about how she first got involved with the help of another league coach, VanDerveer. Smith was an assistant for VanDerveer at Stanford in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit. Smith thought there was more that the nation could do.
“There was a lot of talk about how that was handled, and how our nation should have been better prepared, and how we didn’t take care of people and the reasons behind that. I remember talking to Tara at the time and just being like, ‘This isn’t fair. Like, why are we doing this? Why is our nation like this?’ And just complaining, complaining, complaining,” Smith said.
“Tara said, ‘OK, Charmin, what do you want to do about it?’ And, I was like, ‘What?’ She was like, ‘What do you want to do? Tell me what you want to do.’ At that point, we came up with the Katrina assist pledge program, and Cal actually joined in with us. And for every assist during that season, we were raising money to help rebuild homes in the area. The lesson I learned from that is: it’s not enough to just complain, and, you know, talk, talk, talk without any action.”
When George Floyd was killed this summer, Smith asked her Cal players the same question VanDerveer asked her: What do you want to do?
“The action that they’ve taken since that day, I think has been phenomenal … they’re using their platform, and they’re using their voice,” Smith said. “And I think it’s just really important to always think about what you can do, and not just what you’re going to say.”
The great unknowns
How are Barnes, VanDerveer and Smith planning their seasons with so many uncertainties?
VanDerveer told her team that “everyone’s middle name is flexible. We just have to be ready to do whatever we’re allowed to do and enjoy each day one day at a time.”
Smith is focused on keeping her players healthy and happy during a time when they can’t hang out in the basketball offices anymore. She is trying to find different ways to keep connected.
Barnes continues to tell her players to be careful. So far, they’ve been successful— no one on the team or staff has tested positive for COVID-19. Barnes is also preparing for things she never thought about before.
“For instance, on the road, do you room your starters together? Do you room the same positions? All these things. So much is up in the air,” Barnes said.
VanDerveer had the best line for the good has come out of these strange times.
“For me personally, going in and getting tested every day, it’s, I think, improved my workouts. I’ve been in the pool with Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel. If nothing else, I’m going to get in better shape.”
