Kailyn Gilbert's confidence, feel for game key ingredients for growth, consistency for Wildcats

Kailyn Gilbert is serious about her game.

That’s a fact.

Last year, she spent extra hours in the gym. This offseason, she transformed her body with the help of her coaches and had a plan on how to grow by getting stronger and smarter with how, as well as what, she was focusing on.

Over a 13-game stretch of the nonconference, it’s obvious that it worked.

Gilbert is leading the Wildcats, averaging 15.4 points per game. The sophomore is also notching 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Not only are these numbers a big jump from her rookie season, but Gilbert has also taken on a much larger role across the board. Some of this is the makeup of the team, as she is one of only three returners. Some of it is the position she plays — point guard. Some of it is, frankly, that it is just Gilbert’s time.

“I went through a lot of ups and downs last year, especially with my confidence as a player,” Gilbert said. “Some days I was like, ‘You know what, I’m here. I’m made for it.’ Other days, it was like, ‘No, I don’t necessarily think that I’m ready.’

“But in the back of my mind, I always had a feeling that I would do great things. Hopefully, I just continue to do great things. I’m grateful for everything I’ve gotten, but there are still a lot more things to do. We’re trying to win a conference title this year.”

A big step toward that title could be if Arizona (9-4, 1-0) can top No. 5 Colorado (11-1, 1-0) in its Pac-12 home opener Friday night at McKale Center. The game is televised on Pac-12 Networks with Cindy Brunson and Joan Bonvicini on the call. Derrick Palmer will be on the radio call on 1290-AM.

As Gilbert talks about how far she’s come, she’d much rather focus on the little things she’s been working on improving or even her teammates.

While Gilbert has grown game by game, there is a lot more that goes into this every day than meets the eye. Yes, she does the traditional work and watches a lot of film — even of how former UA standout Aari McDonald knocked down a 3-pointer against Colorado and a few moments later was playing tight defense on Jaylyn Sherrod.

Just playing

Gilbert considers herself more of a feel type of player. Do all the preparation, but when she’s on the court, just naturally react and play. It’s about “understanding what type of player I am,” Gilbert said.

“(I’m) not really thinking to much,” Gilbert said. “I feel like that was the main struggle (last year), but just over time, it’s just more fluid. I’m starting to realize, ‘OK, this is my shot. When I get right here, this is my knee.’ Or ‘Every time I come right here my teammate is open right there.’ It’s just getting that feel. I always say that feel for the game.”

While others may call it a read, Gilbert says it is feel. Either way, it only happens after she’s put in the work during the week to know the scout on her opponents, as well as learning more about her teammates’ tendencies.

Arizona coach Adia Barnes has worked with Gilbert, showing her the film and talking to her about how she can become a better all-around player. One who plays offense and defense, one who gets her teammates involved on the offensive end.

“I think it was just opening her mind and her eyes to say this is really good, but you’re excellent when you do this,” Barnes said. “It takes a long time because it’s 18 years of habits. She’s always been the player who scored like 40 points and didn’t really have a strong group around her. I think she’s seeing that ‘I can be more efficient with this and have the same points but I can do X, Y and Z, and our team can win.’ And I think her team is really poured into that, encourage that, and she’s becoming a better player…

“(Last year) she would say ‘I don’t want to play defense.’ I said, ‘Well, if you want to be good player, you can’t just play offense. Good players play offense and defense.’ She’s capable. She’s athletic, she’s explosive, she’s strong. … She’s seeing the benefit. She’s seeing how she’s becoming a better player. She’s getting recognized for that. When you receive those things, I think you’re more confident in those things and you try to do them better.”

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Gilbert was recognized as Pac-12 player of the week on Dec. 18 for her performances against Texas (26 points. five rebounds, two assists) and against ASU (19 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal).

Consistency is the key

What is striking is her consistency. It’s not just one or two games where she’s stuffing the stat sheet. It’s every single night.

Part of this is Gilbert’s understanding that if her shot isn’t falling early, she finds other ways to get going. Take any game, and you can see this unfold.

Most recently, against Seattle in an 89-52 win Sunday, the first thing she did was get a steal. She missed a jumper. Then, an offensive rebound and three assists before she scores — two free throws — at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the shots started falling: a mid-range jumper, a 3, a layup. She also collects a steal and an assist.

Even when the scoring comes, she’s still setting up her teammates and doing all the other things. She finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and only one turnover in 31 minutes.

Gilbert said she’s just doing whatever it takes to win. What she took pride in most from that game was the rebounding. It’s one of the things she’s been working on.

She realized that early on, she was grabbing more rebounds, then not so many and wondered, “I’m getting five boards barely crashing. What would happen if I crashed all the time?”

“When I subbed in the last quarter of the Seattle game, I had six boards, and there was like four minutes left in the game,” Gilbert said. “And I was like, ‘You know what? I can get four more boards.’ I got four boards in basically four minutes. If had that mentality on the boards going into every game, every single minute, I think I could … What’s better than your guard getting a rebound? Just get out in transition, people run the floor, you can find them. Instead of the post getting the ball, and then them having to turn and then find the guard when everyone has gotten back.”

Gilbert knows that the more she grows as a player and a leader, the more it helps the Wildcats — especially this season with all the challenges they’ve faced from injuries and a short bench.

“I think that a lot of people are sleeping on us,” Gilbert said. “We’re just gonna play. I think those are the teams that you really have to watch out for.”

She added that Barnes keeps sharing with them that the 2020-21 Final Four team had an eight-player rotation.

“Shoot, if they can do it, why can’t we do it?” Gilbert said.

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Photos: Arizona Wildcats knock off Seattle 89-52 in nonconference finale, women's college basketball