Arizona Wildcats at BYU Cougars: Women's hoops scout, unofficial visit

She said it

Arizona coach Adia Barnes on BYU: “I expect it to be hard. It’s our first Big 12 game. Playing before Christmas is always a tough time because everybody's focused on Christmas. They're not supposed to be but they are. Those before finals and right before Christmas are tough games because right now, they're all spent from finals, and on both sides, probably. I don't know when they have their finals, but I'm assuming same.

“BYU is good in transition. (For them) 22% of their points are in transition, kind of fast. To put it in perspective, we're about 20% so they play faster than we do. Typically, I think other teams have played faster than we do this year ... we don't play as fast. They can shoot the ball. They do a lot of handoffs. They're a good team and it's going to be a hard game for us on the road, but it's going to be a good challenge for us to start the Big 12 and see where we're at.”

On the sidelines

The 3: To kick off Arizona’s first Big 12 season, here are three questions with BYU coach Amber Whiting.

Q: Who would you say is your go-to player? Is it Kemery Congdon (nee Martin), who is a senior who played in the Pac-12 at Cal and Utah?

A: “(Yes) and KG, Kendra (Gillispie), they are our captains and they bring that calm in the storm sometimes. They have different ways of doing it. KG will use her voice and Kemery is more of a ‘I’m going to put my arm around you and we’re going to talk it through – you and me.’ They just have their different ways of handling each individual. And I love that about them.”

Q: You haven’t played Arizona yet in your tenure at BYU. What do you know about the Wildcats?

A: “My daughter (Amari) was recruited by Adia, so we’re good friends. And Salvo – we’ve known them for a long, long time. I respect her and her program and what she does. I know that they pick you up 94 feet, and they're just dogs on defense and in your face.

Q: How would you assess where your program is now with conference games starting? If you had to put a grade on it right now, where do you think you are? What's going well? What do you still have to work on?

A: “I think we are probably a B, if I were going to give a grade. I know there's a lot to work on still but we've had some bumps and bruises along the way, and I think they've adapted and changed and stayed the course. I think we dropped a game that we shouldn't have dropped and that taught us things. But the way they responded for that after that game was really, really good. For me, that shows a lot. And there's a lot of like times we were down, fought our way back in where we had some really big third quarters. I think there's some grit and toughness that they've shown me that's going to help us when we get to the Big 12.”

A deep Arizona connection: Wednesday night former UA standout and Indiana Pacers guard TJ McConnell entered the men’s basketball Ring of Honor. He was supported by his entire team, including assistant coach Jenny Boucek. Boucek also coached Barnes during the Seattle Storm’s 2004 WNBA Championship run.

On X (formerly Twitter), Boucek posted (in a reposting of this connection) that Barnes and McConnell are “2 of the best competitors and teammates that I’ve ever been around! #Bear Down”

Injury update: Skylar Jones sat out against Weber State on Monday because of plantar fasciitis in her right foot. Barnes said she expects Jones to play against BYU. Her foot was sore earlier in the week and having extra time to rest is helping her recover. 

Unofficial: The Wildcats had a visitor at Monday’s win over Weber State: Ivanna Wilson-Manyacka, a 6-2 guard in the Class of 2027. She is out of Frederick, Maryland’s Bullis High and is ranked No. 2 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz.

This was an unofficial visit for Wilson-Manyacka, who is versatile and can play small forward, as well. As the youngest player on Team USA’s U17 team (at 15), she helped bring home gold this summer at FIBA’s U17 World Cup in Mexico, averaging 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. She was limited in the championship game with an injured right wrist.

Teddy bears: The Wildcats delivered a truckload of teddy bears to Casa de los Niños on Wednesday morning. More than 1,500 stuffed animals were collected Dec. 5 at the annual Teddy Bear toss at McKale Center, where fans who brought the bears tossed them onto the court at halftime of the GCU game.

Barnes, who said “it’s good to give back and good to serve,” wishes they had even more time to spend in the community giving back.

“In our community, this is a close knit community that really values that, and I think we've done a really good job of that, even my first couple of years, to build that foundation and go to read to elementary schools and stuff like that” Barnes said.

Barnes went on to say that a few Wildcat favorites, besides delivering these teddy bears, are Habitat for Humanity and Banner Children's at Diamond Children's Medical Center.

Giving back has always been front and center for Barnes. It was something instilled in her early on by her coach, Joan Bonvicini. Barnes was the first WNBA player to start her own charitable foundation in Seattle and was part of a contingent of NBA and WNBA players who went to Africa to educate and share the joy of basketball.

For her, it’s important to teach her young women to continue this important work.

“If you can motivate one kid, you’ve done a great job,” Barnes said. “If you go to YMCA and you're doing a free basketball clinic, and you give one kid some motivation, some light or some enthusiasm about something, or some hope, that's something special.”

By the numbers

13.2: Arizona’s scoring margin over opponents during the non-conference season was 13.2 points. The Wildcats averaged 72.8 points per game, while their opponents averaged 59.6 points.

38.2: The Wildcats pulled down an average of 38.2 rebounds over the last 13 games.

2: Arizona is second in the Big 12 in steals, averaging 11.8 per game. Last season, the Wildcats averaged 11.7 steals per game.