Pac-12 Media Day: Lot’s of excitement for the Arizona Women’s Basketball team

With the media in attendance for the Pac-12 Media Day for Basketball, many were excited about the Arizona Women’s Basketball team fresh off a WNIT Championship.

The Arizona Women’s Basketball team is building a lot of hype this off-season. Fresh off their WNIT Championship last season, the Wildcats look to capitalize on that experience. At the annual, Pac-12 Media Day, the Cats were picked to finish No. 6 in the very competitive Pac-12 conference. Time for this team to make some noise out West!

On Pac-12 Media Day on Monday, head coach Adia Barnes and both Wildcats stars Tee Tee Starks and Aari McDonald told us they don’t really pay attention to the pre-season rankings, they are inspired to get the team to the next level. “Yeah, we’re picked sixth, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot to me,” explained Barnes.

Arizona was all the buzz among our fellow media at the Pac-12 Network headquarters. Barnes opened the Arizona Basketball portion of the day with excitement. “This is going to be the best year for Pac-12 women’s basketball. I’m fired up,” said Barnes, “We all say we’re excited, so I’m very excited. But I think that there’s so much parity in the league right now, I think it’s going to be a great year for the best conference in the country.”

The media used the entire time allotted for Arizona to ask questions, mostly about winning the WNIT and how that put the program on the map.

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Did you know Head Coach Adia Barnes and Cal head coach Charmin Smith were teammates on the Seattle Storm WNBA team? They are also both coaching teams that are their alma mater.

Barnes drafted a few International players this season and she spoke about how they are coming along. She spoke about using “The Program” a military training program, which the Utah women’s team also used to prepare for the season. She said that the players had to speak English to lead exercises during the training program and that helped.

One of her assistant coaches Salvo Coppal, Adia’s husband and her assistant coach, speaks Spanish so that helps and the players are learning from the International players as well. They all went out to a Turkish restaurant together to honor 6-foot-3 freshman forward Sevval Gul and coach Barnes felt it was good for the entire team to “Embrace different cultures.”

We asked Coach Barnes how she stays so positive and is smiling all the time:

"Well, I’m getting gray hair, so that’s not a great thing. But no, I just think that — I’m definitely a positive person. I think that there are challenges, there’s adversity. We all have it. And I think that part of being a role model and being a professional is taking care of your business.How could I not smile? I go to work every day, I get to wear sweats, I don’t have to wear heels every day. I wear sweats and I mentor young women and I coach basketball. So for me, that’s a blessing, and there’s nothing to take for granted because one day I probably will get fired. Everybody gets fired in this profession.But I think that I’m in a great situation helping young women, and I think for me that’s something to always smile about. Yes, are there highs and lows, yes, but there are in every progression. I’m coaching at my alma mater, I’m doing what I love, I’m in a game that has changed my life, and I’m still part of this game. So I mean, I’m going to smile for a long time because of that. For me, I’m where I want to be. I’m in the right place. I’m at the right place, and I think the timing is right for everything. I think everything happens for a reason."

When we asked what inspired Aari and Tee Tee, this is what they had to say:

"“I would say just — I’ll reflect back on last season. I know that the NIT like we weren’t satisfied, so just winning that will make myself and my teammates hungrier for this year, and we’re hoping for better things. – Aari McDonald“We spoke earlier, but, honestly, I think about how close we were to getting into the NCAA Tournament. We were a couple of games from getting in, so I think just having those experiences and being able to implement them into this year and kind of handle those situations better, I think we’ll be able to accomplish those goals” – Tee Tee Starks"

Oregon Ducks head coach Kelly Graves mentioned that he was impressed by Arizona winning the WNIT when asked about teams in the middle of the Pac. He mentioned Arizona voluntarily, wasn’t prompted about it.

Oregon went to the Final Four last season, so that means a lot coming from them. Graves has star Sabrina Ionescu returning, who could have left school for the WNBA draft. Ionescu said she has “unfinished business” and went back to Eugene to win an NCAA Championship. Her coach feels she can be the face of college basketball this season.

Perhaps the funniest quote of the day came from rival Arizona State University head coach Charli Turner when she told a joke, then stated, “We are going to play like naked nuns this year.” She had just told a joke about nuns doing chores in the nude, letting in a guy who was a “blind” guy (as in window blinds).

How can you not be excited about this season’s Arizona Women’s basketball team led by always happy and positive head coach Adia Barnes? We are too! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!