Rookie 'Cat Skylar Jones brings Chicago basketball grit, energy to Arizona Wildcats

It’s visible by way of the Whitney Young High School Dolphins jacket she proudly wears; it’s apparent in how she presents herself and talks about who she is, about the game of basketball, and about how she is adjusting to life in Arizona.

While the six-foot UA women’s basketball freshman might not have brought her big winter parka to the Old Pueblo, she did bring that Chicago mentality and game, which she described as, “gritty.”

“Gritty and there are no quitters,” she said of basketball in the windy city.

“Everyone’s going to tough it out. That’s what I love about Chicago — everybody is going to figure it out. Figure out a way. I feel like it’s that way on the West Coast, too. There are a lot of gritty dogs out here, in a good way,” she said.

“But we are also a family. The whole basketball community in Chicago is so tight,” Jones added. “Everybody knows everybody. Even if we’re rivals, we still support each other no matter what off the court.”

Grittiness has been one of the first characteristics that embodies UA coach Adia Barnes’ successful teams, including those that made runs to the WNIT championship and the NCAA title game. So it’s easy to see why Barnes would like that “Chicago” style of play out of Jones — and why Barnes was one of the first coaches to call when Jones became available in April after decommitting from Missouri.

A four-star recruit rated No. 96 overall by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, Jones is the first player from Chicago to join the UA team during Barnes’ coaching tenure, though not the first in program history. Among the handful is Dee Dee Wheeler, who most notably helped Arizona win a Pac-10 title in 2004 and is in McKale Center’s Ring of Honor.

Jones averaged 19.6 points, 3.3 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game, leading Whitney Young to a Public League Championship and to the Elite Eight of Illinois’ Class 4A Championship. She scored more than 1,500 points during her high school career. And with Young an elite academic school in Chicago that students have to test into, the Wildcats are also getting someone who clearly takes school seriously.

‘A big guard’

Jones describes her game as “a big guard,” and as “a slasher, but I can shoot, I can dribble, I could pass.”

And that’s just the start.

She has long arms and reminds Barnes “body-wise of Sam Thomas.”

Jones has been working with UA assistant coach Salvo Coppa on learning how to use her length within the defensive system to get those tips, steals and blocks.

She can also shoot the 3 and, while listed as a guard on the roster, will play at shooting guard and small forward. Two positions are a lot to learn within the Wildcats’ system, but she’s not thinking about it that way.

“I’m going to do my hardest to get it right. I’m not going to quit even if I get it wrong. I get frustrated but I’m still going to keep trying,” Jones said.

Finally, there’s that speed. Recent transfer Courtney Blakely and rising sophomore Kailyn Gilbert may be faster, but the team as a whole has been working on this over the summer. Jones said it comes down to “really knowing how to move your feet and what foot to use.”

“I think that’s what’s making us better is learning which foot to use when you use our left foot when to use our right foot and how to be light on your feet and not be so heavy,” Jones said. “Be on your feet and be on your tippy toes.”

While Jones might have been the final piece of Arizona’s 2023 rookie class, she was in the first group to earn her “A” this past week. The Wildcats have a tradition of players earning the right to wear their new Arizona gear, and Jones was in the early group alongside Blakely, a transfer guard from Middle Tennessee State, and fellow freshman Montaya Dew, who is out for the season after having knee surgery in August.

It’s been a boost to Jones’ confidence, especially after feeling a “beat behind” when she first started training this summer.

“When I got my ‘A’ it just showed that me that putting in hard work and getting extra shots in, coming in the gym and doing extra lift is starting to pay off,” Jones said.

Pushing through the tough

Making extra effort and persevering started early for Jones.

Kristin Moore, her older sister who played at Arkansas from 2002-06, introduced her to basketball, but Jones didn’t really take to it. It wasn’t until she played in the Small Fry league with the boys in fourth and fifth grade that it all started coming together.

Even then, it took some time for Jones to find her love of the game.

“(At first) I was like, ‘Dad, do we have to go?’” Jones said. “I was playing against boys at first and that was really hard at first because I’m not a boy and they used to beat me up all the time. But it made me tough and gritty. That’s how I am now.

“I feel like that’s really what made my love for the game was playing against those boys and it getting hard but still being able to push through and figuring out a way.”

Jones’ sister has been her guide throughout her basketball career. She still talks to her every day about everything; before it was the recruiting process, and now it’s about adjusting to college. Moore was there when Jones decided to decommit from Missouri and helped her find a soft landing at Arizona.

This time around, she limited the schools she talked to three: Illinois, ASU and Arizona. Having used all her official visits up, her parents paid to travel to Tucson for an unofficial visit. She fell in love.

“I got that feeling (of home) as soon as I got on campus,” Jones said. “It was like a want for me — they wanted me here. They watched all my film and they were interested, intrigued and they really cared.”

Despite being so far away from home, the transition has been good. She loves everything about Arizona, from class to her new bike. She can’t wait to FaceTime her parents in the dead of winter to show off the sunshine in Tucson.

She also loves practice — even on those hard days — as that’s just basketball.

“I chose to come here and I don’t have any regrets,” Jones said. “Coach Adia is hard on me, but she also is loving and caring. Even when I don’t understand something she’s going to explain it to the point where I understand. That’s something I need. I need that tough love but also somebody that I could talk to if I need anything and she’s that person.”’

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