Arizona's Erin Tack settling in on basketball court, will throw javelin in spring for track team

The last few weeks have been quite a ride for Erin Tack.

One day the Arizona sophomore javelin thrower was going through her regular lift routine in the UA weight room at McKale Center. And just a few days later, on Thanksgiving Day: she was participating in her first day of practice with the Arizona women’s basketball team.

A few days after that: she had a full scholarship.

Definitely a series of pinch-me moments — especially for someone who always dreamed of playing basketball in college.

The sport was her first love. Both of her parents played, as well as her older brothers, Reece and Drew. Her mom was her first coach. And yes, there were epic battles in the driveway.

But then COVID-19 hit and she suffered an ACL injury to her right knee which took away playing basketball her final years at Kelso Senior High School, located in Washington north of Portland, Oregon.

“It was kind of a bitter ending to my basketball career,” Tack said.

She poured her effort into becoming one of the top javelin throwers in the state of Washington and committed to throw for coach Fred Harvey and the Arizona track and field team.

Javelin became her next great love, but when she was asked to join Arizona women’s basketball team it was just too good to pass up.

The UA women’s basketball team entered the 2023-24 season with only 10 available players and needing more depth in the post position. So coach Adia Barnes added Tack to the roster.

“The fact that this opportunity to play again came up,” Tack said, “I was super excited.”

Harvey said he views everyone as “University of Arizona athletes,” and he has no problem with them helping another program.

Barnes said usually she would “worry” about “adding someone else your locker room that you don’t really know.”

But in Tack’s case, “she’s already here and she’s a high level athlete and she’s good.”

Added Tack: “Knowing that coach Adia (Barnes) is one of the best coaches out there. I’ve always watched her on TV and was like, ‘Oh, wow, I am going to the same school (she coaches at).’ Now that I am actually playing for her is amazing, and I never would have thought this would happen.”

Tack’s introduction to the women’s basketball team happened just like in a dream. She was in a lifting session when other performance coaches noticed that she was moving like a basketball player. Word got back to Barnes and after some conversations with Harvey, Tack became the team’s most recent addition.

Tack missed both her junior and senior years of basketball in high school. She only played a partial sophomore season after breaking her hand and having surgery. She was all set for her three seasons in her junior year — volleyball in the fall, then basketball and finishing with track in spring — when the pandemic pushed the sports together. Her opening basketball game and track meet were on the same day in the spring. Tack said her javelin throw was “what actually got me recruited here.” Three hours later, in the third quarter of the basketball game she tore her ACL.

“I took the ball up the court completely and then just drove down the lane going into contact for a layup,” she said, adding that as she was going up, “I it was at that 45 degree angle changing direction and it just popped and I was like, ‘oh, no!’”

While it was an abrupt end to basketball and one dream, Tack was fortunate to have the javelin just waiting for her.

Similar skills? Maybe so...

Tack competes for the UA track team during the outdoor season; for javelin throwers that doesn’t really start until March 22 at the Willie Williams Classic at Drachman Stadium. If women’s basketball goes deep into the NCAA Tournament, Tack will just start throwing a bit later. Harvey said that, as in the past with top javelin throwers, Tack needs to be ready to throw at Pac-12 Championships in May.

And Tack is an elite thrower. Last spring, she set an Arizona freshman javelin record with a throw of 148 feet, one inch at the Desert Heat Classic. She finished 16th in the javelin at the Pac-12 Championships.

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While pivoting from one sport to the other isn’t easy for any athlete, Harvey noted how basketball and javelin can be surprisingly complimentary.

“Strength,” “power,” and the ability to run at “maximum speed” and “put the brakes on and just have to stabilize their body,” Harvey said of throwing a javelin.

For basketball, “You don’t have to necessarily do that on the court. But there’s some similarities in the sense that when you run, you turn. You have to plant and you have to have core stability. That’s going to be really easy for her.

“The rate of speed she has to run and stop at (for javelin) is nothing nowhere near what she’s going to be on a basketball court.”

While Barnes said she doesn’t know much about javelin and what similarities it might have with basketball, it’s what she sees through her basketball lens makes Tack a good fit for her program.

“I do know she’s probably stronger, pound for pound, than anyone on our team,” Barnes said. “She’s got a really good physical basketball body. She’s lean and tall but she’s strong. She runs the floor really well. She’s quick for her size, for sure, she’s a good athlete so she can run, she can jump, she’s strong up top. That means she’ll finish baskets well.

“She’s a good person and you feel it and you see it and she just wants to be there and help. I think she’s going to be a really good addition.”

The need for a player like that at this point in the season for the 7-3 Wildcats is legitimate. The 6-1 forward would have been the 11th player ready to go on Barnes’ roster, but now that number is back to 10 after forward Maya Nnaji announced this week that she’s stepping away from basketball to focus on academics.

Despite Nnaji’s departure, Tack joins a post position group that does include Breya Cunningham, Isis Beh and Esmery Martinez.

Tack had a little bit of a setback to the start of her college basketball career after she hurt her right knee in practice. It was swollen and inflamed but by the end of last week she was back to shooting free throws — albeit with a big ice pack on her knee. She had an MRI and there was no damage.

Tack said everyone was checking in on her to make sure she was doing well. That likely included another famous Kelso, Washington, native — UA men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd. In a town of nearly 13,000 where everyone seems to know everyone, Tack said she and Lloyd do know each other well.

Tack’s mom, Mary Beth, taught Lloyd in school. Lloyd’s nephew, Carter — he’s a manager for the UA men’s basketball team — and Tack were best close friends growing up. Tack and Carter Lloyd played on the same team in The Spokane Hoopfest — the biggest three-on-three tournament in the country — and Tommy Lloyd would cheer them on.

“I know the Lloyd family pretty well; it was fun growing up with them,” Tack said. “Now that we’re both in the basketball world here at Arizona, it’s pretty crazy.

“I see him in McKale and he gives me the ‘Hey, Tack,’ and I give him ‘Hey, coach, how’s it going?’ We exchange a few words. I hang out with Carter quite a bit.”

For Tack, the transition back to the basketball court is a full circle moment. She’s now able to bring a few more years of maturity to the Wildcats, as well as “big strength training.”

“I think strength is going to help for sure and being tough mentally and physically. Just kind of pushing through adversity and proving myself that I’m not just some track kid trying to play basketball, but that I can actually do something,” Tack said.

Dual sport success at UA

Tack is just one of the latest dual-sport athletes at Arizona. In women’s basketball, Barnes’ teammate during her playing days in the 1990s, Felecity Willis, also played softball.

Harvey has had a number of track athletes who have crossed over including former UA volleyball player, now head coach, Rita Stubbs, who was also a shot putter. Gerhard de beer was a discus thrower and an offensive tackle while Michael Bates was sprinter who excelled on the football field at numerous spots including running back, wide receiver and kickoff returns.

A few current Wildcats who are joining the track squad are Speedy Luke (running back, football) and Sydnie Vanek (outside hitter, volleyball). Vanek is a two-time California state champion long jumper, while Luke is expected to join the 4x100 relay team at some point.

To Barnes, it also helps that Tack was one of Harvey’s athletes. Barnes has known Harvey since she was 17 years old, when she came to Arizona to play basketball.