As official training camp opened for the 蜜柚直播 women鈥檚 basketball team on Monday afternoon, Adia Barnes was excited to talk about what lies ahead for her Wildcats.
Her freshman class from last season 鈥 Jada Williams, Breya Cunningham and Skylar Jones 鈥 are now sophomores 鈥 or are they?
鈥淭hey were thrown into the fire last year,鈥 Barnes said of the trio who combined to play 2,457 minutes.
These three started and collected even more minutes down the stretch as the Wildcats were limited to six or seven players after injuries and players leaving the team.
蜜柚直播 guard Jada Williams shoots during a July practice. 鈥淛ada has tremendously improved,鈥 said coach Adia Barnes. 鈥淛ust her body, her voice, how she approaches things, her work ethic- 鈥 everything has gone to the next level.鈥
鈥淭hey had tremendous experiences just in the tournament, in so many overtime games, Barnes continued. 鈥淎nd I think that their growth as freshmen is more like two years of growth like we saw. I always give the example of Kiki Rice at UCLA. They ended up at sophomore years playing like juniors or seniors. I think you鈥檙e going to see that same growth.
People are also reading…
鈥淛ada has tremendously improved. Just her body, her voice, how she approaches things, her work ethic- 鈥 everything has gone to the next level. Breya and Skylar also. I think that you鈥檙e going to see a lot from them. I think you鈥檙e going to see them lead us in so many ways, on and off the court.鈥
There鈥檚 also one more player from the Class of 2023 who is expected to make a splash: Montaya Dew. Dew鈥檚 debut was delayed a year after a torn ACL. She was cleared for contact in practice last spring and is hungry to play.
鈥淢ontaya faced a tremendous amount of adversity n her personal life with her mom passing 鈥 that鈥檚 a public thing, that鈥檚 not a secret 鈥 and with her tearing her ACL, so that was a lot for a young person to handle in one year,鈥 Barnes said.
鈥淚鈥檝e watched her grow a lot. I鈥檝e watched her find her voice a lot more. I think you have a new sense of being and belonging. And remember, her mom was her backbone her whole life. I think that was just something that鈥檚 going to make her stronger later. As far as work ethic in the weight room on the court, she鈥檚 hungry.鈥
Dew, who is the program鈥檚 highest-rated recruit at No. 8, is a 6-2 forward. Yet, she will probably play in many different positions because of her versatility. ESPN rated her as the best passer/facilitator in her class.
Barnes
At the time, Shane Laflin, who does the ESPN rankings, called her a 鈥渦nicorn.鈥
He said that Dew 鈥渕akes really good decisions, is good in the ball screen, very bouncy (and) can be a defensive stopper鈥 鈥 and that she does things you can鈥檛 teach.
Now, Barnes said that over the last 12 or so months 鈥 once she was cleared for practice 鈥 she鈥檚 seen Dew get stronger and improve her the consistency of her shot.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been a long time; she really plays with a purpose right now, so that鈥檚 been good to watch,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淪he doesn鈥檛 feel or look like a freshman. 鈥 I think she鈥檒l be a better player later. A lot of times when you get injured as a player, you get to sit back and you get to see a lot of things that you want to change or do, how you don鈥檛 want to be, or how you want to be. That鈥檚 what it did for me.鈥
Another former freshman who stands out is Jones. Not only has she hit the weight room, putting on 11 pounds of pure muscle, she鈥檚 grown in a number of other ways.
蜜柚直播 forward Montaya Dew missed her freshman year with an injury but is expected to play a big role for the Wildcats in 2024-25.
Barnes said she isn鈥檛 as hard on herself if she misses a free throw or a shot. Instead, she is 鈥渦sing her voice to encourage other people not only worry about herself, not have a little bit less narrow in that sense.鈥
Jones was motivated and kept at it over the offseason, and Barnes said it shows.
鈥淗er game is a lot better,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淏efore, (the lefty) never went right, and now she goes right. she鈥檚 just ready, I think she鈥檚 ready to go to the next level. She鈥檚 ready to lead the team, and she wants to and I think that鈥檚 the big transition of all these freshmen. They want to lead the team. They want to bring everybody else along, and they feel like they鈥檝e learned that. That鈥檚 been fun to be a part of.鈥
New in-state rival?
For the past nine years, Barnes has been trying to get a game with Grand Canyon. The time has finally come, as UA will take on GCU on Dec. 5 at McKale Center.
Barnes said she talked to coach Molly Miller, and they realized that they wanted similar things. It is often hard to schedule nonconference games, and the Wildcats didn鈥檛 have everything in place until last month.
Barnes said GCU 鈥淧laying us really makes sense. 鈥︹
鈥淭hey鈥檙e down the road, and it just saves both our programs a lot of money, and all those things are factors now going into this new model coming up. Finances are important.鈥
Top games from around the state for Sept. 23-29
