With expectations surging, Adia Barnes, Wildcats saddle up for another season

SAN FRANCISCO — After becoming the grand marshal of the Tucson Rodeo Parade earlier this year, Arizona coach Adia Barnes said she received more congratulatory texts than she does after getting big, unexpected victories.

“I’m serious,” Barnes said Tuesday, at the Pac-12’s annual women’s basketball preseason media day. “I knew it is a big deal in Tucson, but I didn’t know it was the deal. So that’s what made me popular in Tucson — the rodeo.

“And I had the boots. I have the hat. I had it all.”

Well, there is one another reason why Barnes is getting more texts about the rodeo than the unexpected wins. Arizona is supposed to win most of the time now.

Since going on magical postseason rides in 2019 (WNIT title) and 2021 (NCAA runners-up), the Wildcats have transitioned into a mainstay on the national and conference conversation under Barnes. As such, the Wildcats were picked to finish second in the Pac-12 this season in the conference’s official media poll; the coaches’ poll listed Arizona third, trailing Oregon by just one voting point.

“I think we are in a really good position right now,” UA senior guard Helena Pueyo said. “It doesn’t matter because anybody can beat anybody and … we have really new team this year.”

The Wildcats have a mix of five returnees from the team that finished 21-8 last season, including Pueyo and guard Shaina Pellington, who represented UA at the Pac-12 media day. The UA’s roster also features four freshmen and three transfers.

The fact that the group was expected to finish in the upper tier, but below clear front-runner Stanford, might have been enough to show respect while also leaving a little room for motivation.

“I kind of like where we’re at in terms of where they placed us, because it gives us room to prove everybody wrong,” Pellington said. “I like proving everybody wrong. It doesn’t really matter anyway because you’re gonna have to win at the end of the day. So everybody has a fair shot at finishing and winning the Pac-12 championship.”

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And, to Barnes, it’s a good thing the games aren’t happening quite yet. While expressing confidence for the season ahead, Barnes said it has still been a challenge to get things going.

“It’s good that people think that we have a chance to be really good, but there’s so many other factors,” Barnes said. “We have a chance to be really good if you look on paper but there’s so many different pieces, like getting everybody all together. There’s so much work to be done.

“We’re nowhere close to being the second team right now.”

But they could be soon. Even Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, whose team received all 28 media votes for first place and the maximum of 11 from the coaches. Coaches aren’t allowed to vote for their own teams, and VanDerveer admitted she was the one who voted for Utah.

“Yeah, that was me,” VanDerveer said. “Utah finished second (last season) they have a lot of great players coming back and I think Lynne (Roberts, Utah coach) does a fantastic job. But I could have voted for four or five other teams. The conference is that good.

“Lynne’s done a fantastic job. You look at the job Adia’s done. Just fantastic. You know, the Pac-12 is stacked again.”