SAN FRANCISCO 鈥 As Arizona鈥檚 head coach in the late 1990s, Joan Bonvicini came close to landing a Southern California high school star named Diana Taurasi.
鈥淵ou know, she鈥檚 sort of a good player. Maybe the best of all time,鈥 Bonvicini said Wednesday, with characteristically dry understatement, at the Pac-12 women鈥檚 basketball media day
But there was something Taurasi didn鈥檛 like, and she dropped the Wildcats.
Their games weren鈥檛 on TV very often.
Taurasi went to UConn, and didn鈥檛 arrive in Arizona until she later became a star for the Phoenix Mercury.
UA coach Adia Barnes doesn鈥檛 have that problem, thanks to the Pac-12 Network and the conference鈥檚 media partners. Partly as a result, Barnes has the nation鈥檚 No. 2-rated recruiting class lined up for 2018, on top of what is already an improved roster for the upcoming season.
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鈥淚鈥檓 going to sell that there are 111 games on the (Pac-12) Network next year. I鈥檓 going to sell that there are five ESPN games,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淏ecause kids who come from far 鈥 from Chicago, from New York, from overseas 鈥 their parents want to see them play. Now with the network, you can see them play.鈥
There鈥檚 only one problem with this, and it surfaced Wednesday during the Pac-12鈥檚 media day: Because exposure has helped the conference again produce multiple Final Four contenders and five possible Top 25 teams, the Wildcats have intense competition all around them.
So ... Arizona was picked to finish 11th in the Pac-12 this season, after being picked 12th last season and finishing in a four-way tie for ninth at 5-13.
It鈥檚 a potentially long-term win for the Wildcats with some short-term pain, if you can even call it that.
Barnes and her players don鈥檛. Just a win, period, even if the game is a loss sometimes.
鈥淚 will always sell if you want to be the best, you鈥檝e got to play with the best,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淒o you want to go to a (place) that is No. 1 but doesn鈥檛 play a hard game all year? In the Pac-12, you beat each other up all year, but it really showed in the results last year that it prepared us for the tournament.鈥
The competition doesn鈥檛 bother grad transfer forward Kat Wright, either. In fact, it鈥檚 a big part of why she was drawn to Arizona and the Pac-12 from Florida Atlantic last spring.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited,鈥 Wright said. 鈥淚 know for me (the competition) was a huge selling point and for the girls I know from the 2018 class, they鈥檙e competitors. They don鈥檛 shy away. They move toward that.鈥
The new blood isn鈥檛 the only factor in that mentality. Senior guard JaLee Bennett, one of the Wildcats鈥 remaining veterans, has caught the bug, too.
鈥淧icking us 11th 鈥 we just go out there and play,鈥 Bennett said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing to lose. They have something to lose. We鈥檙e just out there trying to prove them wrong.鈥
The Wildcats had some success doing so last year, and Bennett says she can already notice an improvement and increased confidence in practices this season.
鈥淓ven on our lower-energy days, we still have more energy than we did last year,鈥 Bennett said. 鈥淚f practice is not going well, basically controlling the controllables is the biggest thing I notice.鈥
It鈥檚 a carryover from last season, when Barnes found herself 鈥渄rinking out of a firehose鈥 as a first-year head coach. She saw signs of progress toward the end of the season.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 notice it right away until the end of the year (when) JaLee鈥檚 starting to speak my language and I鈥檓 like, 鈥極K, they actually listen to me鈥 鈥 those little things,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淥r you see things on the court. And those are the things I value.
鈥淣ow I鈥檓 starting to see it more. It鈥檚 not where I want it to be, but it鈥檚 definitely in the right direction.鈥
Bonvicini says she鈥檚 noticing it, too, having attended some early season practices as a supporter and mentor to Barnes, her former star.
鈥淵ou can visually see the enthusiasm,鈥 said Bonvicini, who is also a Tucson-based analyst for the Pac-12 Networks. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e much more vocal and Adia, the first year when you make that change from assistant to head coach, it鈥檚 a big change with all the responsibilities and decision-making. She鈥檚 much more comfortable now because you know more what to expect.鈥
So maybe all that effort and recruiting and television doesn鈥檛 translate into a whole lot of Pac-12 wins now, but it might before long.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not official yet on their recruiting class,鈥 Bonvicini said, 鈥渂ut to have the quality players she has coming in, it鈥檚 amazing.鈥
