Arizona is at the midway point of its season, and still, it’s been hard to get a grasp on the Wildcats.
Yes, the 10th-ranked Wildcats have been winning — 10 games overall and eight in Pac-12 play. They’ve come from behind, edged out a few teams, and dominated both No. 13 Oregon and Oregon State last weekend. Their only two losses have come to Stanford — a team many think is the class of the nation, despite losing to Colorado and dropping to No. 5 this week — and at Washington State.
But it’s tough to gauge exactly where Arizona sits right now.
“From the outside view, I think you guys assess us higher,” said Aari McDonald, Arizona’s preseason All-American guard. “We’re here, we know what we are capable of doing. I think we show you glimpses, and we might get your hopes high, but I think it’s hard to assess us right now.”
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Added coach Adia Barnes: “I would evaluate us as good, not great.”
However, the Wildcats appear to be getting closer to playing a full 40 minutes of good basketball. When they get there, McDonald said, it’ll look like this: “Tenacious defense, help-side communication, executing plays and knowing why we are running plays and who are we isolating, and just making good reads on the offensive end and defensive end as well.”
Barnes has been quick to point out where her team needs to improve. Simply being considered among the league’s top teams is no longer enough.
“Good teams mirror their coach,” Pac-12 Networks analyst and former UA coach Joan Bonvicini said. “Adia was a fiery player and is super competitive. She is hard on herself and has high expectations for herself and people around her. When you start winning, the bar is set even higher and you expect it all the time. She realizes she has the opportunity to do special things.”
The question still remains, how good are the Wildcats right now? Heading into Friday afternoon’s game against Utah, the Wildcats are tied for first in Pac-12 play in steals per game and second in scoring defense … but fifth in scoring offense, sixth in field-goal percentage, seventh in free-throw percentage and eighth in 3-point percentage.
“Adia’s team has always been known as a good defensive team. I think now they are an elite defensive team,” Bonvicini said.
“They were really impressive this past weekend and took two really good-coached teams in Oregon and Oregon State out of what they wanted to do. They are showing their help rotation and are playing smart — they are in the right places at the right time, causing havoc. There defense is more aggressive than it has been before.
“Offensively, they have moments when they need to show more consistency and be better with their three-point shot. Things can always be better.”
For one, Barnes said the Wildcats must rebound better and play consistently smothering defense. On offense, the coach is challenging her players — Cate Reese, Sam Thomas, Helena Pueyo, Trinity Baptiste, Bendu Yeaney and Shaina Pellington — to join McDonald in scoring for a more balanced attack.
“I think that we need those players in double-digit scoring for us to be solid, because then that means that offensively we’re getting productivity from all of them,” Barnes said. “That’s how you have a great team. You have great balance and that’s what Stanford has. That’s what the best teams in the country have.”
Rim shots
- During the 29-day stretch when Oregon State paused its program for COVID-19 reasons, the Beavers’ coaches stepped in for scrimmages. As they prepared for Arizona, coach Scott Rueck played on the scout team. He did his McDonald imitation. “I would have paid to see that,” Bonvicini said. The Pac-12 has banned practice players because of the pandemic; those players, usually college-aged men, typically scrimmage against the women’s teams during the week.
- McDonald is 17 points shy of 2,000 for her career, while teammate Reese is three points shy of joining the 1,000-point club. Thomas went over 1,000 points against Washington State two weeks ago.
- Madi Conner, who joined the Wildcats last week after graduating early from high school, is practicing with the team after clearing coronavirus protocols. Barnes said the Phoenix guard is “fearless; she’s a competitor; she’s a great shooter with a quick trigger in deep range.” Barnes expects Conner to learn the Wildcats’ system first, then gain experience playing against McDonald and others in practice. However, Barnes said, “you might be surprised, she might be someone that can help us down the stretch.”
