Smaller roster, changing times thrust freshmen into spotlight for Arizona women’s hoops

Adia Barnes is walking a tightrope.

The eighth-year Arizona women’s basketball coach doesn’t want too many players on her roster. She’s been there and didn’t like that. In 2021-22, for instance, she had 15.

“Before the season, I was like, ‘Oh, 15 players would be great for practice.’ At the end of the year, I was like, ‘Never again,’ ” Barnes said. “It’s a lot to manage, and there’s like 10 people miserable.

“But now I’m on the other end. We’re never happy, right?”

The Wildcats enter the 2023-24 season, which begins Monday night at New Mexico State, with a maximum of 10 available players. Barnes thought she had hit the sweet spot of 12, but transfer Fanta Gassama left the team and freshman Montaya Dew suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

Barnes never has played more than 10 players for more than 10 minutes per game as head coach of the Cats. But the current setup leaves Arizona with little margin for error should additional injuries occur.

“We can’t afford to have more injuries,” said Barnes, who barely had enough players for Arizona’s second exhibition game because of injuries. “I’ve never had such a short bench.

“The good thing is, you probably won’t see a lot of transfers because everybody’s gonna play. We probably won’t lose five people.”

If there’s an upside to having a smaller roster, that’s it. Everyone will get a chance to contribute — including freshmen.

That was Barnes’ plan for this season anyway, even if the roster hadn’t shrunk. Dew — the highest-rated recruit in school history — would have played “a lot,” Barnes said. Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams, two Top 25 prospects per ESPN’s HoopGurlz, will have significant roles. Skylar Jones (No. 97) likely will too.

If/when that happens, it’ll represent a departure from recent seasons. No UA freshman averaged 15 minutes per game the past two years, and only one (Lauren Ware) hit that mark in 2020-21.

You have to go back to 2019-20 to find a freshman who eclipsed 20 minutes per game (Helena Pueyo). Barnes never has given more than two freshmen 20-plus minutes in the same season. The only time that happened was 2017-18, and one of them was Sam Thomas.

But the landscape of college sports has changed during Barnes’ tenure in Tucson. Her newfound willingness to play freshmen is an acknowledgment of that.

Fresh perspective

When Barnes became Arizona’s coach in 2016, the transfer portal didn’t exist. It has changed the way coaches in several sports approach roster construction.

Players transfer for any number of reasons, from personal to financial. Barnes believes that about 90% of the time it’s about playing time, or lack thereof.

Twelve players have transferred from Arizona to other schools over the past two offseasons — hardly an uncommon occurrence in college basketball these days. Five left after their freshman campaigns.

“The reality is, if you get really talented freshmen and they don’t play or they don’t play as much as they want to play, they’re going to transfer,” Barnes said. “I think that’s just the nature of every top program in the country.

“We’re dealing with 17- to 22-year-olds that aren’t always rational. The standards and expectations are very high. Every person that enters ... a top program, they all want to play 30 minutes. You want to play the most, you want to score the most. You want it to be how it was in high school, and the reality is, it’s not like that.

“If you’re playing 10-15 minutes, that’s a lot for a freshman. The expectations aren’t always the reality of where you’re at.”

Arizona had four freshmen last season. They averaged between 8.1 and 13.2 minutes per game.

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Two elected to transfer: Paris Clark (13.2) and Lemyah Hylton (8.1). Maya Nnaji (13.0) and Kailyn Gilbert (10.6) are back, although Gilbert briefly entered the portal before electing to return.

Nnaji, whose brother Zeke preceded her at the UA, said her future is “set in stone here.” She plans to spend her entire career as a Wildcat.

“Some people think the grass is greener on the other side,” Nnaji said. “I think the grass is greener where you water it. So I’m watering my grass in Tucson, and it’s gonna grow.”

Nnaji’s loyalty and level-headedness are rare, and Barnes is well aware of that. She approached the portal judiciously this past offseason, seeking role players with multiple years of eligibility — as opposed to fifth-year players looking to make a splash before turning pro.

“If you bring in a fifth-year averaging 20 points a game,” Barnes said, “she’ll play in front of a freshman.”

Barnes wants her freshmen to play this year to end, or at least slow, the transfer cycle. She also wants to build something with long-term potential — even if it causes short-term angst.

‘In it for the long haul’

Barnes is planning to test her own patience this season. She’s willing to let the freshmen learn on the job. The growing pains that come along with that are just part of the process.

“They’re gonna get opportunities,” Barnes said. “Sometimes that might mean they’ll make mistakes, but they’re gonna learn stuff. They’re gonna be thrown into the fire, which will pay dividends later. It might cost us some games early, but I’m in it for the long haul.

“Hopefully they’ll learn fast. ... They’re all smart.

“Some players struggle with different things on the court; none of them do. They’re all very smart players. So I think that their ability to absorb and learn is going to show.

“I think you’ll see big jumps every month.”

All the 2023 freshmen possess traits that Barnes seeks in veterans.

Williams is a pure point guard and natural leader. She’s been a vocal presence since she arrived on campus. “I’ve never seen that from a freshman,” said Pueyo, now a fifth-year senior.

Cunningham is an old-school center who has no problem doing the dirty work in the paint. “Breya is the only post in America that wants to be a post,” Barnes said. “All the other fives, they want to be fours and threes.”

Jones “has that Chicago edge” — she attended Whitney Young High School in the Windy City — and a physical profile that reminds Barnes of someone she used to coach. “I love lefty wings,” she said.

It’s unlikely any of the freshmen will be as accomplished as Thomas, though. She tied for the team lead in minutes (36.8) as a rookie in 2017-18.

For most players, trust and playing time are earned. Nothing is given, even with a shorthanded roster and the looming threat of the transfer portal. The current crop of freshmen understands that.

“Right now I’m just focused on getting better and getting used to the system,” Cunningham said. “I know I’m gonna have to work for playing time. I’m not expecting to just come in and start immediately. ... That’s not realistic.”