UA's hometown tour, next stop Skylar Jones' Chicago; Barnes thanks fans, her 'first love'

The Arizona women’s basketball team is on the hometown tour this season.

Last weekend, the Wildcats played in San Diego, where Breya Cunningham hails from. At the end of the season, they will go to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament. Jada Williams grew up there, although she got her own homey vibes last weekend as she played with Cunningham at La Jolla Country Day in her final two years of high school.

This weekend … well, it belongs to another member of the sophomore class, Skylar Jones, in Chicago.

“It’s awesome,” Arizona assistant coach Anthony Turner said. “We just got back from San Diego. We had an opportunity to take the whole team over to Breya Cunningham’s house, and her parents and family just did a phenomenal job of hosting us, and it was a really great time. …

“We go back out on the road again and take another kid home, in Skylar. Everybody that you talk to from Chicago as we go back recruiting or just in Chicago, in that area, they all know Skylar. They all love her. Everybody that you talk to back that way is super excited about the things that they’re seeing from Skyler. I know she’s going to a have a ton of support and I’m willing to wager that the Jones family might just double their attendance.”

Arizona (4-0) is excited to have the support away from Tucson as they take on Chicago State (0-4) .

Jones has some experience playing at Chicago State in her freshman year at the city championships. She remembers the arena had a dome and the stands were similar to those in McKale Center.

To her it really doesn’t matter what the gym looks like, it’s all about playing basketball in front of her family and friends.

Her first thoughts about going home — besides her parents — were about food and basketball. If you are from Chicago, you totally get this.

Among the eats on the list for Jones — if she wasn’t playing a game — would be Harold’s Chicken or J.J’s Fish & Chicken (for the chicken, of course). She did put in a suggestion for one of the team meals: Giordano’s Pizza.

Chicago has always been a hotbed for some of the best basketball in the nation. Besides the days of arguably the best player in the NBA, Michael Jordan, playing at the United Center (also known as “The House that Michael built”), it’s the basketball that’s being played in the neighborhoods and high school gyms that stand out in the Windy City and the surrounding area. On any given night, fans could watch Candace Parker, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett, Mark Aguirre, Juwan Howard, Ben Wilson, Doc Rivers, Michael Finley, Jabari Parker, Derrick Rose, Jahlil Okafor, Cappie Poindexter, Tamika Catchings and Jewel Lloyd. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jones was itching to get up extra shots with her trainer, Ahmad Starks, who also played at Young in high school and professionally overseas. He has worked with Okafor, former UA standout Keshad Johnson, as well as former Chicago Sky players Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot and Candace Parker, among others.

Jones has worked with Starks and another Chicago trainer, Charles George, since she was in eighth grade and they’ve seen her growth.

“They’ve been there mentally for me, too,” Jones said. “It’d be good to have a mental one-on-one with them, because I haven’t had like, a sit down, face up one-on-one with them in a long time.”

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Four games into the season and we’ve seen Jones attacking on the defensive end. She’s using her length to pick steals, narrowing the passing lanes, getting deflections and being in position and denying. She’s even been ripping the ball away from her opponent at times.

“She’s really excelling defensively,” Turner said. “We put her on some of the toughest matchups, and she’s really a disrupter for the other team.”

On the offensive end, she is going to her right a lot in her drives — something she didn’t do last season as a lefty. She also dished out five assists against UNLV on Tuesday night — also a new wrinkle in her game.

However, the one area that hasn’t really been on display is her shooting. She is averaging 9.3 points per game but has more to give. Some of this comes back to the fundamentals of jump stopping, being on balance when taking those shots. Jones has been putting in the work and Arizona coach Adia Barnes said that Jones, “will be fine.”

“We have to show her when and where to drive and give her some options for that — show her on film,” Barnes said. “She’s worked so hard to get stronger, better, worked on her shot and we’re not even seeing that right now. She’s got such a great three point shot. But I love the fact that in the past, if she wasn’t making shots, she wouldn’t have done anything else. I’m proud. She made her free throws; she got rebounds. …She’s figuring out how to do other things but it’s not all predicated on scoring.”

Barnes thanks fans

Barnes posted a letter to: “My first love, the fans of Tucson,” on Instagram Friday afternoon.

She thanked the fans for all their support over the years and said the program will have some “special fan events” this season.

It starts with “The first time I stepped on campus, when I was 16 years old, I knew this was the place for me. You embraced me and turned Tucson into my forever home. I’ve grown up here, not only as a player, but as a woman, a coach and now, as a mother of two. The relationships I’ve formed here go beyond the court — they are friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime.”

She finishes with: “As we embark on this journey into the Big 12, I want everyone to see what we have here in Tucson. This program, this city, it’s a family in every way. Let’s make this season unforgettable. On behalf of the team and myself, I can assure you that we will play our hearts out for you every second we’re on the floor – the same way that you have been cheering your hearts out for me since 1994.

To the best sixth man in the country: Together we’ve created something extraordinary, and there’s no stopping us now. I love you all more than words can say. Let’s show the Big 12 we are made for it!”