Madi, remade: Arizona's Conner evolves from shooter to an all-around threat

Madi Conner doesn’t back down from a challenge.

After spending the summer getting stronger and working on her speed, Conner — the Arizona Wildcats’ spot-up shooting sensation — was asked to take on a new role.

Well, three of them. Conner now knows four positions — point guard, small forward and power forward in addition to her natural shooting guard spot — and has improved her all-around game.

Arizona is going to need Conner and her toughness Sunday, when it faces the biggest opponent on its nonconference schedule. The 20th-ranked Wildcats (8-1) play No. 18 Baylor (8-2) at 5:30 p.m. at American Airlines Arena in Dallas as part of the second annual Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge.

“I’ll do whatever the team needs. I want to be on the floor,” Conner said. “I can pick-and-pop. I am a little bigger guard so I can guard some (forwards). Pac-12 (play) might be little bit more difficult with how big they are, but I’m up for the challenge.”

The 5-foot-11-inch sophomore has added more than just muscle and speed to her game this season. Her defense has been on point, too. Conner was one of the bright spots in Arizona’s loss to Kansas earlier this month.

Conner was in the right defensive stance, contesting passes, making deflections and showing heart even as the Jayhawks piled on a big lead. She also registered the first two blocks of her college career.

“She was one of the few who really fought in that game,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “Other people played hard, but she fought. She dove on the floor. She was doing a little bit more. She had more energy — a spark. That was good. She’s done that consistently.”

Like most freshmen, Conner didn’t know much about defense when she got to UA early in January 2021. But she had the mentality Barnes says is key in making a true lockdown defender.

For Conner, who’s averaging 4.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.7 steals per game in 11.8 minutes per game this season, it’s simple.

“I hate losing,” she said. “When people are beating up on us, it flips the switch.”

Conner is also a student of the game. She follows the defensive practice plan that Barnes and UA assistant coach Salvo Coppa have developed for the Wildcats. It also doesn’t hurt that her past and present teammates — Aari McDonald, Sam Thomas and Helena Pueyo — have been some of the best defenders in the nation.

“We just compete every day in practice,” Conner said. “Just watching people and see how they defend and where to be at. (Sam) was always in the right spot, using her hands. She might not have been the quickest person, but she was always in the right spot and knew how to play defense to her strength. Watching that and learning from her and Pueyo. They play the exact same way — get tips and use their length.”

Conner also works on her defense outside of practice. She often plays 1-on-1 with Arizona graduate assistant Brady Haggerty, who is also one of Conner’s close friends.

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Conner said she felt comfortable learning new positions after the Wildcats lost starting forward Lauren Ware to a season-ending patella injury, a development that forced Barnes to look for creative ways to fill the post spot.

After being on campus for a year and a half, Conner knew Barnes’ system — so much so that she was already telling people where to stand and move in practice.

But knowing and doing it during games are two different things. What happens when she subs for Cate Reese in the post, then a few minutes later, moves over to shooting guard for Pueyo? Isn’t that confusing?

On offense, no. “I feel like our positions are positionless,” Conner said. “It’s the same thing, just spread the floor and take what the defense gives you.”

It’s completely different on defense. All the Wildcats must know which position Conner is actually playing.

“If I’m a post player, I’ll have to trap, and that’s an adjustment because I’ve never been the one jumping out and trying to trap,” Conner said. “I’m usually the one getting hit by the screen.

“(The key is to) just talk a lot and tell my teammates because we usually switch — I switch with all of them. You get confused sometimes, ‘Oh, are a four? Are you a three?’ (There’s) a lot of communication.

“(For my teammates) it’s like you see Madi on the floor and it’s like, ‘OK, we’re going to switch because she’s a guard.’ But then if I’m at the four, it’s like, ‘Oh, wait, now I’m late to trap.’ It’s an adjustment, but I feel like we’ve been doing a better job with that.”

The position switch means Conner, a long-range shooter by nature, must get comfortable with one of the game’s basics: layups.

In the beginning, Barnes said Conner didn’t want to have any part of the short shot. But now, Barnes says, Conner understands why she needs to take them.

“I think she’ll be happy that we made her shoot layups, and she’s going to continue to shoot more,” Barnes said. “I think our job is if you can only shoot with your right hand and we have to improve your left hand. You may go back to right hand in games, but you have to be good to your left. Sometimes you have to pivot off both feet. You have to have basic fundamentals to become a better player. Madi is working really hard and improving.”