Skylar Jones is no longer a freshman.
This was abundantly clear as she stepped onto the court for both of the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament games over the last week.
The 6-foot guard from Chicago, who seemingly has a wingspan to match her height, was doing things that are expected of an experienced veteran, not a first-year player.
She made moves to the basket, juking and getting around defenders. She jumped up in the air to catch a sort-of-alley-oop but landed back on the ground to make a quick jump stop before scoring.
On defense, Jones made her opponents feel uncomfortable by using her length to disrupt and pick steals.
In the First Four 69-59 win over Auburn on Thursday night, she scored 13 points (4 of 8 from the field), four rebounds, two assists and one block. In Saturday’s 74-69 loss to Syracuse, she finished with a career-high 24 points, pulling down six rebounds, dishing five assists and grabbing three steals.
Arizona guard Skylar Jones stands with Arizona coach Adia Barnes in the second half Saturday. The Wildcats lost 74-69 to finish an up-and-down 18-16 season.
If this is any indication, Jones might be grabbing the baton from Helena Pueyo — who took it from Sam Thomas — as the Wildcats’ next stuff-the-stat-sheet player.
Of her drives to the hoop against Syracuse, Jones said basically she was taking what the defense was giving her.
“They were playing a pretty spread-out zone, so our goal was to get the ball in the middle and then just penetrate from there,” Jones said. “When I got the ball, I was in the corner or a little bit to the elbow so I could see the gaps in the middle, and I just drove there. That's what I was really seeing.”
Jones’ vision on the court is another thing that has improved since the beginning of the year. She’s shown flashes of all of these skills and it all came together on the biggest stage in the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona coach Adia Barnes said that just a few short months ago, she wasn’t sure if Jones could do all of this. Barnes has seen up close her growth on the court, as well as the maturity in her mentality.
Jones was the one who would have bad body language and a disappointed-in-herself look on her face when she made mistakes. She’s worked really hard and not letting her opponents know how she’s feeling.
Barnes credits this lesson with why she has played better.
“Great players, we always say, have amnesia,” Barnes said. “If you're a great shooter, you don't think about the last shot; you think about the next shot. if you make a mistake. We always taught her you have the ability to defend, so go get it back on defense. Those things, she's grown so much. That's why she's able in the NCAA Tournament game to be 8 for 14 and have 24 points.
“… I think the combination of playing a lot of minutes, playing through mistakes because some of that is because of necessity because of our numbers, but she's proven she deserved that. She showed up for us, and she's helped us win games. I'm really excited and optimistic about the future because her coming back, she's just going to continue to get better ... proud of her mentality and her approach to everything. She's done that, I haven't done that.”
The future looks bright
Besides Jones, the other members of her class took a huge step forward this season.
Jada Williams has become a leader on the floor and in the locker room. She is a tenacious defender and can go on a tear and score points in bunches — just like she did at Stanford last month with 14 points in a 3:28 span.
Breya Cunningham has learned to go strong to the basket and score and stand tall to pull down rebounds and block shots.
All three benefitted from starting and playing a lot of minutes, and it showed during the last month of the season.
Arizona guard Jada Williams, right, steals the ball from Syracuse guard Kennedi Perkins, left, during the NCAA Tournament in March. Williams was part of a highly-regarded freshman class that lived up to its billing this past season.
“They're playing like seniors now, and I didn't see myself like that when I was a freshman,” Pueyo said. “I'm just really proud of them. They are going to be great.”
One other member of the Class of 2023 that shouldn’t be forgotten is Montaya Dew. She had surgery on her ACL last August and will be ready for offseason training. Her debut will be something to watch as the versatile wing adds a completely different element to the class. If these four stay — anything could happen with the transfer portal these days — the future looks bright for the Wildcats.
“They're our foundation, and this is a really solid foundation,” Barnes said. “… I think when I look at the big picture, this is setting up something special for later because my teams are the best and we've been together a while because our system is complex, and we're better when we can grow together like that Final Four team. We were together three years. I see this group being that. Now we just add some pieces to it. But these freshmen are really fun to coach.”
No natural star
Barnes will be the first to tell you that one of the things that this team was missing from this year's team was a true star. And that was the difference between Syracuse and Arizona on Saturday.
Syracuse has Dyaisha Fair. She’s an All-American who took over the fourth quarter, scoring 13 over her 32 points, going on her own run and knocking down the daggers — a step-back 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper.
“She's really good; she's fast; she has handles,” Barnes said. “She's really good at distributing the ball. She does a good job of creating space and hitting some tough shots, and she took over the game. She took over the game when it mattered, and that's what stars do. That's what All-Americans do. That's what pros do. They take it over in the moment when their team needs it.”
Barnes went on to say that this year’s Wildcats didn’t have that player but they’ve definitely had one in the past — think Aari McDonald.
Instead, Barnes molded the do-it-all fifth-year Pueyo into that. This was on display over the last six weeks, and especially in Thursday night’s game against Auburn. Barnes switched Pueyo to the point guard position in the final minutes and she delivered. She set up her teammates, pulled down key rebounds, scored six of her eight fourth-quarter points in the final 4:30 and had a block.
While it has worked — only because Pueyo is the type of player who does anything that is asked of her — it wasn't natural.
“Helena is a pass-first player,” Barnes said. “She's one of the most unselfish players, but we've kind of made her a go-to player, but that's not really in her nature. Her nature is to facilitate. It's unselfishness. That's why she's great at the one. …
“We don't have that experienced player that can take over a game inside or outside. We will develop that, and we will with our young players, but we just don't have that, and Fair did that. She's really good and hard to guard.”
Hometown hero
Esmery Martinez has played her high school and her college careers far from her homeland in the Dominican Republic.
Those who live in her hometown have followed her career closely. They wait to hear the news of each and every game she plays.
Julio Sanchez, a reporter from Hato Mayor del Rey in Martinez’s hometown, said that her mother was able to watch the game against Syracuse with him on WhatsApp.
Arizona's Esmery Martinez, center, finished the 2023-24 season as the only active player in the country with 1,500 points, 1,200 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks in her career.
He wanted to thank “Arizona for taking Esmery in as your daughter.”
In her final game as a Wildcat, Martinez finished with seven points, seven rebounds and five steals.
Martinez was the only active DI player to score 1,500 points, pull down 1,200 rebounds, dish 200 assists, pick 200 steals and have 100 blocks in her career.
After the game, Sanchez, who called Martinez “the greatest player in the history of the Dominican Republic,” posted this note to her on his Facebook page:
“Today came the end of a brilliant career. Your career has been a source of pride for your country and the people where you were born. You gave everything since you arrived at Hamilton Height Christian Academy, and thus became the Dominican player by birth and descent who has managed to climb the highest rung in college basketball. I am deeply proud of you … May your career be a springboard for more players in our country. Your tears are the reflection of the pain you feel in your warrior heart. You do not have to feel sad. You triumphed! Hail Queen Esmery Martinez.”
Rim shots
- Courtney Blakely collected her 200th career assist with just under two minutes left in the first half on Saturday night. Pueyo knocked down a jumper to give UA a 33-27 lead.
- Pueyo finished her career with 312 steals.
