Cate Reese was meant to be an Arizona Wildcat.
The UA easily won the recruiting battle for the McDonald’s All-American, beating out every team in Reese’s home state — even Texas A&M, the Wildcats’ opponent in Saturday’s Sweet 16 game in San Antonio.
“It was like a first love,” Cate’s dad, Bill Reese, said.
Reese was recruited by coach Texas A&M Gary Blair after attending a camp and games. Reese took a few visits to College Station, but the relationship got no further than that. Reese’s family was told Blair doesn’t visit in-state recruits. He doesn’t start freshmen, either, and with Cate Reese wanting to impact a program right away, the Aggies didn’t make her list.
UA coach Adia Barnes, meanwhile, made Reese a priority in recruiting. She visited the Reeses’ home in Cypress, Texas, twice. One time, Barnes brought the entire coaching staff for a scheduled one-hour visit that lasted more than five hours. When Reese committed, it was because she loved everything about the university. She is in the Eller business school and plans to stay for a one-year master’s program after she graduates and before she plays professional basketball, according to her father.
Both of Reese’s parents have been excited to watch her play in person in San Antonio. Before Monday, they had attended only three games all year — the Wildcats’ opener against NAU and both of the team’s Pac-12 Tournament games in Las Vegas.
“Just to see her was good,” Cheryl Reese said. “I love watching her play and her energy. Everything, her whole life, she’s tackled 100% overdrive.
“It’s unbelievable where the program was four years ago and to see it now, as parents, makes us happy. And Cate is making a difference.”
Cheryl Reese was quick to add: “We’re winning (Saturday). We’re not letting A&M walk over us. Cate has something to prove.”
This time, it’s personnel
Barnes has developed a system that plays to her players’ strengths. It’s worked, as Arizona has been ranked in the top 12 nationally all season long.
A win Saturday would help the UA make more history. No Wildcats team has ever played in the Elite Eight.
Stil, Barnes said she and her players won’t be intimidated by the moments.
“We’re just ready to play anybody. We don’t care. We’re excited. We’re enthusiastic. We know we belong here. It’s not a fluke that we’re here,” she said. “We’re here for a reason. We play a certain style and that’s what we’re doing. We’re not changing anything.”
Arizona is averaging 65.5 points per game in the tournament, 18½ less than Texas A&M’s 84.
Still, Barnes said the team doesn’t have any problems offensively. The team is averaging 66.5 points per game this season.
“This is our personnel,’ she said. “It’s interesting for people that don’t know that that’s the common story. We’re a very good defensive team. We play defense, we find ways to win. It can be ugly, but we’re not we’re not some team with a tremendous amount of offensive firepower.
“We’re never going to say, ‘Oh, our identity is our offense.’ Our offense is never a problem. Our defense creates our offense. And we’re one of the best in the country. It’s not a problem. It’s who Arizona is. We aren’t going to be a team that goes down to 60% from the 3 (-point line); that’s not our personnel. We’re going to be a team that turns you over, that presses you, that runs. So that’s who we are. … It’s gotten us this far, and it’s made us pretty successful.”
The vision becomes reality
When Barnes took over the program five years ago, she had a plan to turn the Wildcats into winners. She sold players Aari McDonald, Sam Thomas and Reese on her vision of what it could look like — a packed McKale Center, adoring fans and an NCAA Tournament run.
In a few short years, that vision has become reality.
“These players are the players that believed in Arizona when no one else did, and so it is more important to win with these players,” Barnes said.
“It’s different now that we’re on all the top kids lists, because we’re winning. But the players that came here and built this and they are the foundation — Aari, Dominque (McBryde), Tee Tee (Starks), Amari (Carter), Sam, Cate — those players came here and believed in the vision. It’s so rewarding to stand there and celebrate with them.
“It’s very meaningful for me because they believed in us when no one in the country did.
“We are doing what we set out to do. We believed in each other, we believed in the process. And it’s not about the end result.
“It’s about the process and all we’ve learned along the way — just living in the moment. And we’ve done that.”
Rim shots
- Texas A&M leads the series 3-2. The last time the Wildcats beat the Aggies was in 1997, when Barnes — then a star forward — was in the lineup.
- UA volleyball coach Dave Rubio said this week that he has been “glued to the TV” watching Arizona’s NCAA Tournament run. “It’s amazing how invested you are when you have a reason to be invested,” he said. “All those things are really enjoyable for me … the frosting on the cake for me.”
