Arizona Wildcats WBB

[AZgirl]

So, Adia was on the podcast of former Arizona men's players Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye. She talks about how dysfunctional Arizona was when she arrived. She has never gone this much into it, but I had heard from people who were around the team during Niya Butts' final year that Butts seemed really checked out.

When I hear that players were at each others' throats to the point of fist fights and didn't seem to understand that it wasn't normal behavior, I am really upset that the AD let the previous staff stay so long.

But it also tells me that Adia and Salvo did a lot to get that group to almost .500 that first season. The second year, after she had shed some players, was the 6-win season, but I think that first year should answer a lot of questions about what kind of coach she is.

It's a good listen if you haven't heard it yet:

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

So, Adia was on the podcast of former Arizona men's players Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye. She talks about how dysfunctional Arizona was when she arrived. She has never gone this much into it, but I had heard from people who were around the team during Niya Butts' final year that Butts seemed really checked out.

When I hear that players were at each others' throats to the point of fist fights and didn't seem to understand that it wasn't normal behavior, I am really upset that the AD let the previous staff stay so long.

But it also tells me that Adia and Salvo did a lot to get that group to almost .500 that first season. The second year, after she had shed some players, was the 6-win season, but I think that first year should answer a lot of questions about what kind of coach she is.

It's a good listen if you haven't heard it yet:

I don't have time right now to listen. But to your over-arching point, yes, it is well known that once Niya knew she was nearing the end of her tenure, she stopped recruiting, in fact there was no recruiting info for the next year in the basketball office when Adia took over. There were transfers out that were inexplicable (Adia has had a few leave that I think were, at least in a sense, recruited over, but that is also a bit unavoidable when you are building upward).

Niya's teams (on court) would go through 5 minute stretches where there was no evidence they knew what sport they were playing, never mind that they were playing it poorly. Sort of like my Rutgers football team in a past era.

I knew things were doomed when the Assistant Coach was accused of faxing his privates, whatever it was exactly. Just no.

 

[cancontent]

20 athletes invited to attend Senior Women’s National Team AmeriCup training camp

www.basketball.ca

Shaina Pellington has been invited to the Canadian Americup training camp. Will get to be at the same facilities the Raptors have been using in Tampa Florida. What an experience.

 

[AZgirl]

Adia has always said that some players were told to leave after the first year because she felt that the culture couldn't improve if they stayed. She talks a little bit more about that here. Says she had a really tough time with it, especially with one particular player, because she was afraid of the negative impact it might have on that player's life.

I had heard that she had to really scramble with the recruiting because nothing had been done for a while. Had to fall back on Europe and grab Lucia Alonso.

Super happy for Shaina!

 

[AZgirl]

Here's a Q&A with Maya Nnaji where she specifically talks about the med school thing and what Arizona had to offer there. She talks about being able to get through both pre-med and med school in 7 years even if she gets drafted.

I don't know how common it is at med schools or if it's still a thing at UA, but when I worked at Arizona a decade ago, one of my coworkers who had moved over from that department also told me that the med school is pretty forgiving there. It takes a lot to flunk out is what I was told. There's a lot of handholding to get people through the program.

Maya Nnaji explains why she committed to Arizona, what she will bring to the Wildcats

The Arizona Wildcats welcomed another Nnaji sibling to the family on May 10 when Maya Nnaji committed to the women’s basketball team. The 6-foot-4 forward out of Hopkins, Minnesota is the No. 7...

www.azdesertswarm.com

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

And today, the paper reports that Lauren Ware will - at least for another year - concentrate on Basketball and not play volleyball next season.

 

[AZgirl]

Here's the article

Arizona's Lauren Ware to focus on basketball in 2021-22 season, may return to volleyball later

Ware says she isn’t giving up volleyball completely, and may rejoin the team for her junior year.

tucson.com

 

[AZgirl]

Gisela committed back in February. Finally signed. Hope she works out better than most of the European players at Arizona.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Hope she works out better than most of the European players at Arizona.

I was impressed w/ Pueyo as a Fr. I don't know what happened her Soph year, but she took a big step backward.

 

[AZgirl]

I was impressed w/ Pueyo as a Fr. I don't know what happened her Soph year, but she took a big step backward.

She stopped shooting. Just flat out stopped. She was taking half as many FGA per game at one point. I think she ended up that way, too.

Aari said that Helena wanted to put it on the floor instead of being the catch-and-shoot player they needed. I think she was right.

It's a similar thing with Thomas. Sam will hesitate just a bit and give the defense time to close. Then, it's too late. She has to drive or pass it. That's why Aari ended up shooting so many bad shots late in the shot clock. With Aari gone, hopefully they do less watching and more shooting. It's the only way to score now.

 

[AZgirl]

More Maya Nnaji stuff. Apparently, the school president got in on the recruiting, even offering to mentor her since he's been through med school.

'The Nnaji dynasty is continuing': How Arizona landed the biggest recruit in program history

On May 10, the Minnesota high school star — and Zeke Nnaji's younger sister — released an online video telling the world of her decision.

tucson.com

 

[Gamecockfan77]

More Maya Nnaji stuff. Apparently, the school president got in on the recruiting, even offering to mentor her since he's been through med school.

'The Nnaji dynasty is continuing': How Arizona landed the biggest recruit in program history

On May 10, the Minnesota high school star — and Zeke Nnaji's younger sister — released an online video telling the world of her decision.

tucson.com

usually they save nonsensical promises about grad school for the naive football recruit who is interested in chemical engineering or something..... so Arizona has some nice institutional support going for WBB right now.

 

[AZgirl]

usually they save nonsensical promises about grad school for the naive football recruit who is interested in chemical engineering or something..... so Arizona has some nice institutional support going for WBB right now.

Yes, they do. I think it helps that WBB has been a positive story for an embattled athletic department. The major men's sports have been about nothing but losing, getting arrested and getting sued for several years. Women's basketball brings good press for a department in desperate need and the school president is very involved in sports, generally speaking. Some people think he wants to be an AD.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Yes, they do. I think it helps that WBB has been a positive story for an embattled athletic department. The major men's sports have been about nothing but losing, getting arrested and getting sued for several years. Women's basketball brings good press for a department in desperate need and the school president is very involved in sports, generally speaking. Some people think he wants to be an AD.

Arizona has always been supportive of women's sports. Of course, they are generally "cheap" - not exclusively on the women's side, although obviously the men get the bigger bucks like everywhere else. Sadly, it looked like they were not supportive when Niya went south and they wouldn't spend the minimal amount of money to make a change. But quite a few years ago we went on an away softball excursion to ASU and got a visit from then AD Greg Byrne at our seats. And I can honestly say that his remarks were refreshing and supportive of women's sports in a way that was not (until recently) particularly common.

That is the great thing about WBB positive story - the support is so much greater.

 

[AZgirl]

I have mixed feelings about Byrne's time at Arizona. I was still working there when he was hired and he did a lot of outreach to the staff and faculty. That was positive. He hired Adia (admittedly at a pittance). That's a positive.

However, he was also in charge during the crimes of Orlando Bradford and Craig Carter, both of whom are now in prison for abusing young female athletes and/or athletic department staff. One of Bradford's victims was a softball player according to the Arizona Daily Star. Both the softball coaching staff and Erika Barnes knew about the situation when he was arrested and let go by UAPD according to a news story written a few years ago. If Erika knew, she's an assistant AD. Byrne should have known (if he didn't).

As for Carter's rampage, several people in the department apparently knew something was up with him and that thrower he was terrorizing. Nothing was done.

The lawsuits over those events are on Byrne and they involve him and/or his underlings apparently failing to act when female student-athletes and student-employees were literally being stalked and beaten by male athletes and coaches.

Then we have Fred Harvey who continued to coach track under both Byrne and Heeke despite the Craig Carter incident. Since Carter, members of Harvey's staff have been accused of being verbally abusive to female track athletes. Harvey is reportedly very charming, but he keeps hiring really questionable people. That's on Byrne and Heeke.

 

[Drew8]

Arizona a finalist for 4-star 2022 Canadian guard Lemyah Hylton

In her top 5. I think her floor is that she is a delight to watch.

 

[cancontent]

Arizona a finalist for 4-star 2022 Canadian guard Lemyah Hylton

In her top 5. I think her floor is that she is a delight to watch.

It will be interesting to see how she manages the visits. Travelling is still a challenge for us in Canada and I'm not sure how Canadian recruits will manage it.

She's listed as part of the Kia Nurse Elite roster and they'll be in the US during the summer. If her visits are officials, maybe it can work. I remember the rule was that recruits had to have taken their SAT before being able to complete an official visit. Now that this requirement has been waived, can she do them while in the US or does she have to wait until September?

The other possible wrinkle is if she's considered an invitee for the Canadian U19 tryouts, whenever they get announced. Would that push back her ability to visit before the school year starts? Lots of questions about logistics, that's for sure.

 

[AZgirl]

Not great competition, for sure, but Shaina Pellington had a good game for Canada at AmeriCup today. She led the team with 16 points.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Not great competition, for sure, but Shaina Pellington had a good game for Canada at AmeriCup today. She led the team with 16 points.

Good to hear.

I assume you saw Adia's most recent salary increase. What is fascinating is the paper had a list of the top 10 or so WBB coach's salaries and by their count Adia would be about #11. OMG - Arizona paying a women's coach well. I will say the list was interesting, CVS is making the same base salary but has some sort of a special $200,000 payment next year.

 

[cancontent]

Good to hear.

I assume you saw Adia's most recent salary increase. What is fascinating is the paper had a list of the top 10 or so WBB coach's salaries and by their count Adia would be about #11. OMG - Arizona paying a women's coach well. I will say the list was interesting, CVS is making the same base salary but has some sort of a special $200,000 payment next year.

Wow. I'm assuming it was negotiated as part of her extension.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Wow. I'm assuming it was negotiated as part of her extension.

I have no idea. It was mentioned in a newspaper article comparing Adia's salary with other coaches, she will make the same $1 million base salary as Vivian, but (the article said) CVS has the payment I mention. I never really saw much about CVS's extension, to be honest. Not overly discussed on the Rutgers board.

 

[southie]

Women’s Basketball announces April Phillips as assistant coach - University of Texas Athletics

Phillips spent the past two seasons at Cal-Berkeley as an assistant coach & recruiting coordinator.

texassports.com

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Women’s Basketball announces April Phillips as assistant coach - University of Texas Athletics

Phillips spent the past two seasons at Cal-Berkeley as an assistant coach & recruiting coordinator.

texassports.com

GRRR. She was back at Arizona (from Cal) for 2 months before he got her. I'm suspecting salary could be a factor, if Arizona has been generous with Adia I doubt it extends to the Assistants.