Five-year plans: College basketball gave Arizona's Helena Pueyo, Esmery Martinez opportunity, more family

They certainly took different routes to get this point, but Arizona stalwarts Esmery Martinez and Helena Pueyo are nearing the end of their fifth years as Division I college basketball players.

Yet there's a constant for each that's been there every step of the UA duo's individual journeys.

Martinez, who is from the Dominican Republic, spent her first three seasons at West Virginia. It was then-Mountaineers assistant coach Bett Shelby, who is now part of the Wildcat coaching staff, who recruited Martinez to play in Morgantown.

And for Pueyo, Adia Barnes has become so much of a mentor and confidant that the native of Palma, Spain, says the UA coach who she's played all five of her college seasons for is like a "second mom."

From learning a new language, to gaining a comfort zone on and off the court, both Wildcats have gone through tough times being so far from home; but they both pushed through to have successful careers — careers that continue Thursday when the 11th-seeded Wildcats face Auburn, also an 11 seed, in a "First Four" play-in-style matchup in Storrs, Connecticut, to open the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

Helena Pueyo: A transformative time in Tucson

Pueyo’s transformation has been on full display this season — a campaign that only happened once she made the call that a fifth year at Arizona was what she needed now, rather than turn pro internationally.

She came to Arizona as a quiet freshman onto a team full of upperclassmen who were coming off a WNIT championship run. She soaked it all in as she played behind experienced veterans like fellow Spaniard Lucia Alonso and All-American Aari McDonald, in addition to former Wildcats Sam Thomas, Dominique McBryde, Tee Tee Starks and Amari Carter.

There were moments in those early years that gave glimpses into why Barnes recruited Pueyo.

As a freshman, she showed off her silky smooth 3-point shooting, as well as her selfless no-look passes.

A defining “Pueyo moment” came in the Wildcats' win over Indiana in the Elite Eight round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. With 70 seconds left in a tight game, the sure-handed Thomas lost control of the ball in the backcourt. Yet, instead of trying to pick it up, Pueyo “rolled” it to teammate Bendu Yeaney who was near the basket.

Fast forward to this season, and Barnes said Pueyo has “pushed herself to a whole different level.”

Pueyo has gotten better in all aspects of her game — from the tactical (like her pull-up jumper), to her conditioning, to playing in nearly every minute of each game; that includes just about every minute of the team's numerous double-and triple-overtime games.

If you ask Pueyo what her biggest area of growth is this season, she says “leadership.”

The two-time team captain has helped the younger players learn the UA system — just like Alonso, McDonald, Thomas and others did early on for her.

She also said that whatever her teammates need from her, she’s doing it. That includes playing every position on the court this season; it also includes taking shots when they need it, and securing big defensive stops in just the right moments.

“I wanted to do it and I know Adia trusts me,” Pueyo said.

It’s that trust that has been at the core of the mutually beneficial commitment Pueyo has to the UA; truth be told, early on, Pueyo wanted to go home to Spain nearly every Christmas break. But each time she stayed.

Then, after last season, she had a three-year contract opportunity to play professional ball in Spain. Yet Pueyo turned that down for one more year in Tucson with Barnes.

“She means everything to me,” Pueyo said. “She’s family to me. She’s like my second mom. You can tell her anything. You can talk with her about everything. I really like playing for her and I think she's a really great coach.”

Coming to Arizona and staying all five years has paid off for Pueyo. Barnes said that many WNBA teams have been watching and calling her to talk about Pueyo.

What they’ve seen all season — and especially in the last eight games as Arizona went 5-3 down the stretch to play its way into the NCAA Tournament — is something Barnes, who believed in Pueyo from the start, imagined was on the horizon.

Barnes has said that Pueyo couldn’t play defense when she recruited her and was “afraid to shoot.”

Although Pueyo has shown a penchant for distributing the ball and playing unselfishly, it's clear neither of those assertions are true in 2024.

“Now, I see her winning games for us and getting national recognition for being one of the best defensive players in the country,” Barnes said.

Over those last eight games, Pueyo is averaging 16 points. She is shooting 52% from the field, including 40% from long distance, and is at 80% from the free-throw line. She also averaged 4.3 assists per game during that stretch.

Barnes has called her one of the most “underrated defensive players in the country.” 

Pueyo has been charged with shutting down many elite Pac-12 players — most notably USC’s freshman sensation JuJu Watkins. And as the Wildcats were within a bucket of winning both games, Pueyo was pretty successful at it, too. Since Watkins hit 51 points against Stanford on Feb. 2, the USC freshman has scored 20 or less just three times; two of those times came with Pueyo guarding her. Pueyo used her length and her footwork, not giving Watkins an inch and not allowing her to go to her right, where the Trojan star is more comfortable.

Pueyo's 103 steals are fifth nationally this season and the most in the Pac-12 since UCLA's Jordin Canada had 114 in the 2017-18 season. Pueyo has 32 steals in the last eight games and with 305 career steals sits in first place on the UA's career list.

“Just look at her now,” Barnes said. “It’s pretty amazing. To watch her talking in front of the crowd, giving presentations, being a team captain — to see this transformation is so rewarding.

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“As a coach, I think it's even more rewarding and satisfying than winning games. Because you're never going to win enough games. You're never going to win enough championships but those things like watching Sam (Thomas) and (Pueyo) and all those players like Lucia Alonso, Dominique McBride — watching them grow and change and learn how to lead and just get better. It's just fun.”

Esmery Martinez: 'Hard work, 'determination'

Esmery Martinez journey to Arizona wasn’t easy by any stretch.

When UA assistant coach Bett Shelby talks about Martinez, one word keeps popping up: resilience.

Martinez was far away from home when she injured her knee at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Shelby, then at West Virginia, and WVU coach Mike Carey watched her in an individual workout. Even though Martinez hadn't been cleared yet for play in contact, they still saw enough to give her an offer.

Shelby saw Martinez play a few years before at a tournament after she had just arrived in the United States. What stood out to Shelby then sounds quite familiar to what is seen on the court today out of Martinez, now in her second season as a Wildcat and fifth college year overall. As Shelby puts it, “She did really unbelievable things — her ability to rebound the basketball, her passing ability. She played with a high level of energy.”

Martinez has proven one of the toughest individuals to step on the McKale Center court in recent years. Throw just about anything at her — a migraine, a cut lip, a bloodied eye — and she shakes it off. She just keeps going.

Her versatility and willingness to put herself in any spot on the floor — for three years as a Mountaineer, then as a Wildcat — has led her to become the only active NCAA Division I player to score 1,500 points, pull down 1,200 rebounds, dish 200 assists, pick 200 steals and have 100 blocks in her career. She’s also fourth in rebounds (1,253) among active D-I players.

“We knew she was going to be a big-time player,” Shelby said. “She just had to overcome that knee and the language barrier and she was gonna be really, really, really special. I think we've seen her just overcome a lot of adversity. That’s something she's done her whole life growing up as a young kid in the Dominican Republic. It’s a lot different than growing up as a young kid in the United States. She just learned how to be resilient and get through things and I'm really, really proud of her for that.”

Over the last year, Martinez has improved her 3-point shot, her ball handling and her conditioning. Playing in UA’s pro-style system has showcased her aggressive style. She’s grown into an all-around, versatile player.

In the weekend sweep of the Bay Area schools, when the Wildcats rallied past highly-ranked Stanford and then routed Cal, Martinez scored a combined 37 points, collected 18 rebounds and dished eight assists. She was rewarded as the Player of the Week by both the Pac-12 and, on a national level, the Associated Press.

Martinez said that being so far from home, she’s felt “alone” at times. What has helped is how the fans in Tucson have taken her in. This is what made Senior Night so hard for Martinez — just knowing that her time as a Wildcat and being part of the Tucson community is coming to an end.

She also holds a special place in her heart for her two coaches — Shelby and Adia Barnes.

She said that Barnes has always supported her and taught her things outside basketball that has allowed her to mature. Barnes has also showed “me that they are here for me; I am not alone.”

Not unlike how Martinez's teammate, Pueyo, classified her relationship with Barnes, Martinez said that Shelby has been like a second mom, too: “When I’m down, up, she’s been there for me.”

Shelby’s entire family has welcomed Martinez as one of their own. Shelby said that her life has changed with Martinez in it. She has seen up close the strength, courage and sacrifice it has taken Martinez to leave her home to create a better life.

“Esmery deserves all the credit. She has put herself in this his position because of her hard work and her determination and her resiliency, and nobody can ever take any of that from her. It's just really rewarding to watch,” Shelby said.

Martinez came back for her fifth year to complete her undergraduate degree for her mom back home in the Dominican Republic. She is the first person in her family to earn a college degree. While Martinez was offered a pro contract midseason — it came at the end of December —she, again, chose to stay with the Wildcats to complete this last run.

Coming to the United States to provide for her family — she ends up giving most of her scholarship money each month to her mom — turning down that offer with real money wasn’t easy.

“I’m here to complete my goal,” Martinez said. “I’m here to help my family and be somebody and try and help some other people in my country.”

Martinez is now in line for a possible WNBA training camp contract, as well as playing pro ball internationally. Staying for this fifth year has put her in that position.

“I want her to be able to use basketball as an avenue to live her dream and to take care of her family,” Shelby said.

“I've seen her grow as a young woman. I think she's got all the life skills that people need to go out into the real world and be extremely successful. … I hope 40 years from now when there are little Esmerys running around, she's accomplished everything she set out to accomplish. That's what I want for Esmery — great things for her life.”