Arizona women's basketball coach Adia Barnes looked for 'fit' when adding players to 'special' group

The last few months have been a blur for Adia Barnes; though it's par for the course in high-level college basketball, this offseason hasn't been much of an offseason.

Since the Arizona women's basketball season ended in the NCAA Tournament in March, the now ninth-year UA coach has:

• Signed a freshman class of three in Lauryn Swann (of New York), Katarina Knezevic (of Serbia) and Mailien Rolf (of Germany);

• Added a transfer class of four in Paulina Paris (from North Carolina), Sahnya Jah (from South Carolina), Jorynn Ross (from Pepperdine) and Ajea Yoakum (from FIU);

• Recruited for the classes of 2025 and 2026;

• And worked to retain what she has called the "foundational" players of the UA program in sophomores-to-be Jada Williams, Skylar Jones, Breya Cunningham and Montaya Dew.

With that core in tact, when Barnes was looking to add to the Wildcats' roster for for the 2024-25 season, her strategy had many layers.

“I knew I was going to build a deeper team. (I) knew that we had to get better on the perimeter shooting — a little bit more depth inside,” Barnes said. “I think we did a really good job of getting pieces that can help us — players that we can develop. Most players had multiple years (of college eligibility remaining). That was important for our player development.

"We knew Ajea being (at UA) one year, she could still help us because she's athletic and brought us something different but the other players knew we had multiple years to build on," Barnes said of her goals of adding transfers that weren't likely to be in Tucson as "one and done" types.

The Wildcats have added shooters in Paris, Rolf, Knezevic and Swann; Jah brings athleticism; Ross has size.

Barnes also spent even more time — albeit when dealing with transfers everything seems to move at the speed of light — on the intangibles. While there has always been a focus on the culture when she brings in new players, Barnes said that this time it was even more important

“This group is really special," she said of those returning, leading her to put a premium on finding players that aren't just good at basketball, but fit the group.

“We have a really good core and we have incredible chemistry,” Barnes said. “It was amazing last year — like from the from the middle of the year on — and so I wanted to build and add to that. I had to make sure that everyone I added to that was going to be a great part of that chemistry. I didn't want any outliers."

Barnes said her team was "young and being molded and I wanted that core to stay," leading her to go after "the right people" to fill out the roster.

Just like when she added then-walk-ons Erin Tack and Brooklyn Rhodes to the UA roster during the middle of last season, she wanted to make sure that anyone who joined the current players were a good fit and had the right personality. Barnes said that this team is “low key” and hangs out together; she stressed that each new player comes from a good family and are good people.

"I'm happy because it was hard and I was very intentional about it," she said. "There was some really good players that we could have gotten but I just wasn't sure and I didn't want to take that chance.”

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Last minute transfer

After one year as a Wildcat, Courtney Blakely transferred back to Middle Tennessee State this offseason. Yes, Blakely was a Blue Raider before coming to Tucson, but has now has gone back to Murfreesboro.

She waited until close to the end of the open window to put her name into the transfer portal.

According to Barnes, one of the biggest reasons, besides wanting to be closer to home, was school. When she arrived on campus in Tucson, she lost a number of credits, Barnes said, adding that it would have taken Blakely a year-and-a-half for the soon-to-be-fifth-year senior to graduate.

Williams wants it

Williams may not be the fastest player on the court or the most athletic, but she definitely has the most heart and “want-to.” She’s always working to get better — especially on defense.

“Jada is going to end up being a great defender, Barnes said matter of fact.

“When you have a heart and you have a want to do it, you end up being a good defender," Barnes said. "You have the intrinsic desire to want to be great and want to defend. ... The mentality and the will is there. You're going to play better angles; you're going to maybe take a step off because when you're not as fast, you got to modify a little bit. That's how I was and I was good defender in the pros. I just had to learn, ‘OK, let me study her pivot foot a little more; her tendencies.’”