Transfer Jorynn Ross picks Arizona with sights set on growing as basketball player and a person

When Jorynn Ross got her first call from Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes, she had to take a deep breath.

“(Barnes) is a big star in my book,” said Ross, a West Coast Conference All-Freshman team selection last year at Pepperdine before transferring to the UA for the upcoming 2024-25 season. “When she contacted me, I was like, ‘No way, what are you talking about?’

As Ross said, Barnes is “famous”; Even more important to Ross, however, is that the all-time Arizona great as a player and coach has accomplished, on and off the court, a lot of what many of these young women’s basketball players dream about.

“I had some schools I was going to go to but they weren’t fitting my style. They (were) not really fitting the energy I want to play for. And then coach Adia contacted me and she was just like right on it, no hesitation. I was like, ‘OK, we’re serious. That’s it. I have to go. You’re serious, I’m serious.’

Once Ross wasn’t as starstruck and started to get to know Barnes as a person, she realized even more that Arizona was the right fit to continue her college basketball career.

“I got through the surreal part of it. She’s my coach now. She’s a real human being, she’s not a superstar that you see in the ads. We know her life; we know her kids (Matteo and Capri). She’s a normal person.

“Well — not a normal person, but like middle ground. Now, I understand that’s just my coach.”

For this rising sophomore, there was a lot more to choosing to go to Arizona than just playing for a woman she’s looked up to for many years. In her conversations with Barnes there were two things that Ross needed in her next school that were this program’s sweet spots: development and community service.

On and off the court

Barnes and her staff are known for developing players. There are many examples, including Sam Thomas, Aari McDonald and recent Wildcats-turned-pros Esmery Martinez and Helena Pueyo.

Ross wants to follow the lead of those Wildcats; she wants to keep growing and getting better every single day, specifically on the defensive end.

Ross is starting to learn the footwork and fundamentals of Arizona’s style of defense, and plans to be disruptive and create turnovers.

The 6-3 forward is also excited that Arizona allows her to be both a basketball player and be involved in the community.

Her passion for giving back started at Summer Creek High School in Houston. The native of Milwaukee moved to Houston when she was in high school.

“We did a special needs charity basketball camp and that was really fun for me,” Ross said. “I could do that probably every day.

“I want to keep doing that,” she said of continually giving back in some way.

Building on a solid start

During her rookie campaign at Pepperdine, Ross averaged 6.1 points and 20.7 minutes per game last season. She earned that WCC All-Freshman nod after collecting two Freshman of the Week honors in December — those coming when she went 5 for 6 for 11 points against Cal State Bakersfield and, just a few weeks later, scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds against NAU.

Barnes said when she saw Ross on her official visit, she was even taller and stronger than she originally thought.

“She’s someone who is really hungry to learn,” Barnes said. “I’m excited to develop her and work with her.”

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Ross describes her game as “Running the floor and getting a rebound.”

With the loss of Martinez to the professional ranks — she will be playing in France in the fall — Arizona’s 2024-25 team needs a true rebounder. Ross said her coaches told her that rebounding is her main role.

But there is a little more to Ross than just rebounding. She’s a sneaky scorer. In high school, she scored 1,300 points. Most of her scoring is “back to the basket” but she is working getting offensive boards that lead to put backs and “finishing through physicality.”

Ross started playing basketball because there was no soccer available at her school back in eighth grade. She decided to try out hoops because her friends were doing it.

She hated it at first, but it grew on her. She began having fun.

That fun delivered Ross from having never played the game six years ago to now playing for a major conference program. Along the way, she was also invited to tryout for the U16 U.S. National Team alongside future Wildcat teammates Jada Williams and Breya Cunningham.

Ross said its hard to believe she’s come so far in such a short time, especially as most sophomores in college have been playing basketball nearly their entire lives. She thinks it’s her footwork and sprinting from soccer that has helped her grow at such a fast pace.

“I think that’s the only thing that got me this far,” she said. “‘Oh, you can run? OK, you can play.’”

Developing the player, the person

Ross, however, is doing more than just running these days. She is spending the summer developing her game and will soon learn the Arizona system and more. That learning aspect is really what sealed the deal for Ross.

When she was on her official visit to Arizona, Barnes showed how she is focused not just on developing the player, but also the person.

“(Coach Adia) wanted to get everyone a dress-up outfit because she learned that a lot of us don’t have a business outfit,” Ross said. “That was a selling point because she’s teaching us how to be a woman. She’s like, ‘I want to teach her how to be a woman; a professional. If you don’t play basketball, you’re a professional at something.’”