Shaina Pellington is ready to take on an expanded role this season.
Thatβs not all talk. UA coach Adia Barnes said she sees so much more in Pellington since they started individual skills workouts and practice earlier in the week.
βShe works harder. She's more coachable,β Barnes said. βYou're starting to see the work she put in so she's shooting the ball better, better than she ever has. I think you are starting to see that work from the last three years come, but I think the main thing for me is just being she's more coachable.
"She's more eager to learn. She wants to lead in the point guard position; she wants to do well. I love that. I see that I think she's hungry. I think she just wants to be the best she can be. And so that's exciting for me to see because she cares.β
This comes after a challenging season that humbled Pellington, who transferred to UA after two years at Oklahoma.
After sitting out a year, she struggled to make her mark on the Arizona program. All season long, Barnes told Pellington to be patient.
On April 4, all that waiting paid off. Pellington played 30 minutes in the Wildcats' national championship game loss to Stanford, scoring 15 points with seven rebounds and three steals.
Pellington is hoping to build off the Wildcats' run and a summer spent playing for Canada in the Olympics.
The Star talked to Pellington about her relationship with Barnes, her experience with Team Canada and how sheβs improved over the last four months.
What did you learn from playing with Team Canada all summer?
A: βI got to play alongside pros pretty much my entire summer. I learned a lot about the game, myself as a player, getting more comfortable with me and my skills and my assets. I'm working on the areas that I need to work on. I think this is a great summer for me personally, individual growth, and on the court growth.β
What does that on-court growth look like?
A: βA lot of shooting. A lot of taking shots. Reading the game better from a foreign guardβs perspective, knowing when to make passes, knowing how to get my teammates open in different situations, and just leadership in general. I think my leadership has stepped up a lot β being more vocal as a point guard on the floor.β
Is reading the game better just based on watching a lot of film or more reps?
A: βWith my national team, we watch a lot of film of different scenarios based off of the plays that we have. I'm looking at different options, recognizing who you're playing with so you know what you can do with specific players β¦ then obviously here, when I'm with (assistant) Coach Salvo (Coppa), he helps me work on my game as well so a lot of reps, doing a lot of different situations pick and roll defensive rotation situation.β
The six new additions to the team. As a point guard, you have to learn their tendencies, how hard they like the ball thrown to them, etc. Now, that youβve been doing this homework, is it easier and faster to form that bond?
A: βThe newcomers that we have are very skilled. I think chemistry-wise weβre getting to know each other very well on and off the court, which helps. I think they're great players and they're really going to help us this year. We're a very deep team. Honestly, deeper than we were last year, which is crazy to think about. I think if we can improve on our team chemistry on the floor, and we have a lot of time to do that, we can be an excellent team and we can be right where we were last year.β
What is it like to be an Olympian?
A: βI mean, it's something that I've worked towards my entire life. It's that thing that you talk about a little kid β¦ I've always wanted to be an Olympian, and so that was great. Itβs been since I was like 3 years old, for that to happen was really surreal for me. And under very different circumstances because of COVID. I think it's just one of those things that nobody can ever take away from you, despite what was going on with the economy and COVID and everything. It was great.β
Did your teammates ask you about your experience?
A: βA lot of my teammates when I came back β (and) even when I was there β were asking me a lot of questions about how things are going at the Olympics, how my experience was, what I what I learned. It was really cool to come back here and show them β¦ about the things in practice that I was able to pick up that can help their game and also mine. Yeah, it was a great experience and they were all very excited for me.β
Coach Adia said that you are more vocal as a leader and sheβs seen other gains from your summer. How has it helped you having her as your coach?
A: βI think the most important thing for players is to have a coach that supports you as a coach that backs you up on the floor. I think that can always elevate you as a player to another level. One thing she does a great job of is understanding her players, relating to her players. She is very honest and open. You can ask her anything and sheβll tell you the truth β¦ she will always let you know what she thinks. She's always trying to help me develop my game, told me things I need to work on. Sheβs been very instrumental to my development as a player since Iβve been here.β
You had a great run for the title last spring, and you had your best game of the season in the championship game. How do you now build on that game and what you learned over the summer and be more consistent with that type of play this season?
A: βFor me, when I mentioned βbe patient,β I think that came from a place of me trying to find myself as a player again not having playing college basketball for such a long duration of time (after sitting out a transfer year). It's a lot more difficult than people realize. And just different team, different environment, different conference. One thing Coach Adia told me β¦ was to have patience. β¦ I knew I was going to get through it eventually. I think that final game is a testimony to our relationship and shows how Coach Adia and I have always been.β
