Picked to finish fifth in Pac-12, Arizona Wildcats embrace underdog role again

SAN FRANCISCO — After finishing second on the highest stage in women’s college basketball last season, with a one-point loss to Stanford in the national championship game, Arizona was picked to finish fifth this season.

In the Pac-12.

It’s not hard to imagine how coach Adia Barnes might react. In fact, some social media posters quickly did just that: One expected to see a “double-bird from Coach Adia,” while another responded with a video clip of Barnes’ now-famous moment in the huddle of UA’s Final Four upset win over UConn.

But, after finishing a rooftop luncheon during the Pac-12’s women’s basketball media day Tuesday, Barnes laughed when told of those social media reactions.

That’s not quite she was thinking, Barnes said.

First, as her Pac-12 coaching peers must have when filling out their ballots, Barnes noted that the Wildcats don’t happen to have star guard Aari McDonald darting all over the court anymore.

“It’s because we’ve lost our All-American,” Barnes said of the drop in expectations. “I think that’s kind of normal and if you look at the teams 1,2, 3 and 4, they’re better teams than us. They have more talent. They have more stars returning.”

So, no need to get worked up.

“No hard feelings,” Barnes said. “That bird was unique. … and honestly, I couldn’t care less where the coaches put us because for me, if I would have listened to people, I wouldn’t have taken this job or been successful. No one said we could make a Final Four. Now we’ve done all these things. It doesn’t matter where you are at the beginning, it matters at the end.”

At the predictive phase of this Pac-12 race, the Wildcats are sitting fifth, behind first-place Stanford, Oregon, UCLA and Oregon State, at least according to the 12 head coaches who voted for the poll.

UA standouts Sam Thomas and Cate Reese, who were representing the Wildcats for interviews and promotions at the media day, said they were OK with that.

Reese said being picked fifth gives the Wildcats “a little bit of wiggle room” in the race, allowing them to finish ahead of expectations as they have in all but one of Barnes’ five seasons (they were picked second last season and finished there exactly).

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Thomas agreed.

“I personally think it’s a good thing,” Thomas said. “There’s not a target on our back, necessarily. We’re still fifth and I feel like the one through eight spots are all interchangeable. It’s just how good the Pac is.

“But I think everyone just sees we lost Aari, so they think we’re not as good. They’re gonna underestimate us. I’m excited.”

Former UA coach Joan Bonvicini, now a Pac-12 Networks analyst, can see why some people might because of the way McDonald impacted the Wildcats so significantly on both ends of the court, making them especially quick on the defensive end.

But, after attending a recent practice, Bonvicini said she also saw signs that UA will work to recover without McDonald this season.

“I think they’re gonna be good,” Bonvicini said. “I was really impressed. And they seem like they have good chemistry. There’s a lot of different players who can score. It’s just like they’ve got to figure out how — like is it going to be a collaborative with more people stepping up?”

Stanford doesn’t even have those sorts of worries. The Cardinal returns the vast majority of its national championship team, while Oregon, UCLA and Oregon State are also stacked, with the NCAA’s eligibility waiver for athletes who played last season allowing everyone to return.

“I mean, I just walk around today and everybody looks really good to me,” said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, when asked about how the league race could play out with Arizona picked fifth. “I’m just like, ‘Wow, that’s gonna be a tough game. Wow, that’s gonna be a tough game. We just have a great league, we have great coaches, we have great players and the fact that so many players came back is a reflection on each of the teams.”

In other words, being picked fifth doesn’t mean you aren’t good. Nor does being picked sixth, where Washington State found itself despite coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 30 years last season.

“We’re in the best league in the country,” Washington State coach Kamie Ethridge said. “No one’s getting worse.”

Maybe not even Arizona, no matter how far the Wildcats are supposed to drop in the standings.

“It’s gonna look different, but I’m telling you guys right now, we’re going to be a better team,” Barnes said. “We’ve got to get better but I think the challenge is exciting to me, and I think that’s the fun part about coaching, proving people wrong.”