Adia Barnes and the Arizona Wildcats picked up their first transfer of the 2024 offseason Tuesday afternoon:Β former North Carolina combo guard Paulina Paris.
The 5-9 combo guard was ranked No. 27 overall and seventh at her position in the Class of 2022 by ESPN's HoopGurlz.
At North Carolina, she was a key reserve, starting eight games this season before going down with what was called a βlower-body injury.β She averaged 5.9 points and 1.5 assists in 15 appearances. As a freshman, she averaged 6.3 points and 1.3 assists seeing action in all 33 games, including four starts.
She was also on the All-ACC Academic Team as a rookie. Her breakout game came in her first start a little more than a year ago, when she earned ACC Freshman of the Week honors for scoring a career-high 22 points (including hitting six 3-pointers and carding five steals) in 33 minutes of action in a win at Clemson.
Her standout game this past season came after she returned to the court after missing two games; Paris scored 16 points (on 5 of 8 from the field) to go with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Paris led New Jerseyβs Saddle River Day School to the 2022 county championships scoring 34 points. She was also on the Jordan Brand Classic Girls National Team. She also played for New Jersey Sparks EYBL.
North Carolina freshman guard Paulina Paris set multiple career highs in a breakout performance on the road against Clemson in January 2023. She set single-game career-highs for points (22), made field goals (7), made three-pointers (6), and steals (5) in the Tar Heels victory.
