Freshman Jada Williams moves with purpose, yet savors every moment of her time as a Wildcat

Jada Williams has places to go and things to do.

She’s in a hurry.

And yet, for someone who used to walk around carrying a basketball everywhere she went when she was a little girl, Williams is savoring every moment.

This is true on the court, where Williams said she’s already “been pushed to levels I didn’t know I had in me,” as the freshman has only been at Arizona since June.

And off the court, supporting her fellow student-athletes by going to volleyball matches, riding e-bikes or playing virtual reality games with her bestie, fellow freshman and former La Jolla Country Day teammate, Breya Cunningham.

All of this is done with a flare that is uniquely Williams.

Which includes what just might be the latest viral dance craze — The Jada.

Williams said this extra sense of purpose and gratitude for every moment has evolved over the past few years.

“I realized … especially because COVID that it can be taken away, and I knew that I took it for granted,” Williams said. “Now, I’m just playing every game like it’s my last. Every practice like it’s my last. Every lift like it’s my last. … My No. 1 thing is bring the energy, bring the passion.

“I’m going to cheer my teammates on. I’m going to celebrate. I’m going to hype on my coaches. I’m going to do whatever that may be. I just have a lot of energy when I’m out there because I love what I do.”

Williams had the wind knocked out of her when Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, died in a helicopter crash in January 2020. It was one of the defining moments of Williams’ life.

Williams met Kobe when she was in middle school at a basketball tournament in California. He gave her tips, including challenging herself by playing a complete game with her left hand.

Bryant and Williams kept in touch until his death. To this day, she calls him one of her biggest mentors.

Kobe was also mentoring other young women, including Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu (now in the WNBA), UConn’s Azzi Fudd and LSU’s Hailey Van Lith.

It wasn’t only Kobe who inspired Williams, it was Gigi, as well. That’s why after playing with Kobe’s number “24” on her uniform for a year, she switched to “2” and said that people now call her “JW2.” (J-dub two).

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“I saw the light in Gigi, which Kobe had, as well,” Williams said. “She was doing a fadeaway jump shot when she was in like fifth grade. It’s ridiculous. … (Their deaths) hit really hard, but just being able to wear the number two supporting Gigi because I knew her dreams were going to take her really, really far. You could just see. You could tell in her work ethic. Just being able to wear that (number), continue her legacy as many, many, many other basketball players are doing. I just think it’s special and try not to let it die. I think it’s just our motto we’re living by now.”

A chip on her shoulder

Williams also has a connection to another former basketball player: Betty Lennox, who won the 2004 WNBA Championship (and MVP honors) with the Seattle Storm, along with UA coach Adia Barnes.

Lennox was William’s first coach back in Kansas City — well before she moved to San Diego. Williams spent hours with Lennox learning how to dribble. Then, she started working with Marcus Walker. Williams said it was the two of them who “instilled like a hunger in me to make it.”

“A lot of people especially on social media didn’t think I was going to make it because not a lot of people make it out of Kansas City,” Williams said. “I think that was just a target on my back, always a chip on my shoulder; just grind,” Williams said. “I think that they instilled that hunger in me and it just kept going my whole life. Today I’m still hungry. I try to tell my teammates like we got to get that Natty. We got to get that Natty. … I think we have a really good chance. We’re really young, really new but we’re all eager to learn and win.”

Williams has big goals for the Wildcats but knows there are steps to complete before they get to the Natty.

The 5-foot-6-inch point guard brings a strong pedigree to Arizona as a McDonald’s All-American, SLAM All-American and played in the inaugural Nike Summit last spring. Williams also played for USA Basketball’s U16 and U17 teams. She averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game in her senior season at La Jolla Country Day.

Still, she quickly learned this summer that playing at Arizona is unlike anything she’s experienced before. First, there was a focus on the basics from when to do this type of pivot, reads off screens to jump stops, as well as basketball and Arizona terminology.

Then there is Arizona’s defense.

The biggest thing Williams has noticed about Arizona’s defense is “Intensity.”

“You have to be intense when you play this type of defense. We’re going to be flying around you’ve got to be in shape,” Williams said. “One thing our strength coach, Coach Chris (Allen) talks about a lot is being a pit bull. You have to be everywhere all the time, like no excuses about ‘oh, she was,’ no, you got to be there.

“We do the same drills back in high school, but just a different level of focus. A different level of intensity. That’s the word that keeps coming to my mind is just how hard we have to play defense. How little things matter about having your hands in the right spots, being able to interrupt the offense. It’s just something that we’re really focusing on right now. I’m excited because I’ve never played this type of defense before.”

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