Exhibition games have meaning.
Maybe not for in the standings, but in so many other ways.
Thursdayβs 86-63 win over West Texas A&M was a time for the Wildcatsβ heralded freshmen to work through their nerves. Maya Nnaji, Paris Clark, Kailyn Gilbert and Lemyah Hylton were playing in their first college game. Everything β putting on their uniforms, warming up, going thru starter introductions, sitting on the bench and checking into the game β was new.
βThere are players learning what to do, the etiquette on the bench, what a game day looks like. Itβs all new,β Barnes said. βSo itβs a lot of stuff. Let alone learning all new plays, all new defense. Itβs a lot of information. Itβs like information overload for freshmen. But thatβs a part of the process.β
Despite some turnovers, fouls and missed rotations, the freshmen played well. Nnaji scored three points, pulled down five rebounds, picked up an assist and blocked a shot. Hylton went 3 for 6, scoring six points, and added a steal and two rebounds.
Gilbert ran the offense with confidence and scored 10 points, including a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the first quarter to give UA a 24-12 lead.
Clark finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed four steals.
Barnes was paying attention.
βI always say that you can play two minutes or or 22 β those minutes are important, what you do in those minutes,β she said.
βA perfect example of that is Paris. She was probably the sixth or the probably the eighth person, and she came in and she was a spark. Then she earned more minutes. And she played really hard. She was fearless and she was solid defensively. So she earned more minutes. Now as a coach, I have more confidence in her going moving forward.β
Patience on defense
Arizona had 18 steals against West Texas A&M, and one might think the Wildcatsβ signature defense is already a well-oiled machine.
Not so fast. The Wildcats still have much to learn. Just last week, they installed a first-court press in practice.
Guard/forward Jade Loville said that the Wildcats need to shore up their transition defense and βtrust each other on help side.β
This ramp-up is typical for the defensive scheme that Barnes runs. The UA will get another chance to fine-tune its defense Wednesday, when it takes on Cal State Los Angeles in another exhibition.
βOur defense will definitely be better, because weβre going to work on a lot of defense,β Barnes said.
βWeβre going to have a lot of defensive practices, because we take too many chances. I want discipline, not over-aggression. I want aggressiveness with good rotations, then discipline. If you are going for a steal, youβre not 100%, then be solid and be in front of someone. Not like lunging here, lunging here, rotation, and then no help. Those things collectively, as a team, we have to get better at. We had no help side. Those are things that our identity is: really solid rotations. Itβs OK. Weβre just not there yet, but weβll get there. Iβm confident in that. I know that. ...
βI also have to take a step back and not be critical. ... OK, we have seven new players, four freshmen, who have never learned defensive rotations and itβs all new, and theyβre trying. And they want to be good. Iβm happy for that. Then we have three transfers, who came from all different styles and different coaches. Thatβs normal. Thatβs over half your team. Thatβs seven out of 12. I do have to give that some grace, some understanding and some patience.β
More conditioning
Thursday marked Arizonaβs first game against another team since March, when the Wildcats lost to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fifth-year senior Cate Reese said the Wildcatsβ conditioning isnβt quite game-ready.
βWeβre kind of tired. We were blowing gas. I was gassed in the first three minutes of the game, so I think that that was a little bit of a factor tonight but weβre definitely going to get better,β Reese said.
Barnes said her players will soon be ready for a long season. The way she put it, they have no other option.
βGreat players never get tired, because when good players get tired, great players kick their ass,β Barnes said. βYou look at the Sue Birds, you look at the Diana Taurasis, you look at Sylvia Fowleses β look at all those players, they donβt get tired. Theyβre never on the court gassed. ... Theyβre in shape. Fitness is never a factor, because then you can press, you can get shots and youβre not tired ... being ready to play good defense. All those things are ways you play on the court here. If you donβt do those things, itβs hard to play.β
Rim shot
Senior point guard Shaina Pellington scored seven points on 2-for-12 shooting. She also grabbed four steals, pulled down three offensive rebounds, had six assists and only one turnover. Barnes said she doesnβt think 12 shots is too many for Pellington to take. However βShaina is too good to go 2 for 12,β she said. βBut you have those nights. Then I said, βIf you do that, then itβs good because she did other things.β Thatβs what I love. In the pasts she would have not had that. She kind of stopped. I love the fact that her maturity (level was to keep fighting).β