Isis Beh is in her element.
She’s found a home in the Arizona women’s basketball program.
There were plenty of signs last year, but once Beh made the decision to come back to Tucson for her fifth year, she’s blossomed even more.
It was on full display on a recent Friday with local media on the Lute & Bobbi Olson Court at McKale Center.
It was in the laughing and the huge smile that came with it and the work the 6-3 forward has put in since the 2023-24 season ended.
“I came back this year for a reason. I’m just taking advantage of everything and really locking in on every part of my life,” Beh said.
And that everything includes attacking every aspect of her game — off the court and on the court.
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Arizona forward Isis Beh goes up to the hoop during the Wildcat’s double-overtime loss to USC at McKale Center on Feb. 29.
Beh said it all started with “diet and lifestyle changes that helped me change my body.” Add onto that the work in the weight room with UA performance coach Chris Allen and this is an equation that is already translating to making it easier for “me playing the four, now.”
Breaking it down, Beh is running the court better and attacking the basket better in rebounding situations.
With all this offseason work and getting stronger, there are two other key areas of Beh’s game that have improved: She is more confident in her shooting and even better in defense.
For Beh, who is in her second season at UA, it has taken a while to really find her place. The Murray, Utah, native is in her sixth year of college, having started her career at UNLV. She missed two years because of COVID-19 and an injury, moving on to Salt Lake Community College and then West Virginia.
Before coming to Arizona, each year Beh had a different coach. At UNLV, Kathy Oliver, was fired. At West Virginia, Mike Carey retired. The following year, Dawn Plitzuweit bolted for Minnesota after one year of coaching the Mountaineers and within hours after WVU lost to UA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
After Beh made the decision to finish her career at Arizona, she said of Adia Barnes, “I never had a coach who cares for me so much.”
Arizona forward Isis Beh waves to the crowd during Senior Night against UCLA in March. Beh will get to go through the ceremony again in 2024-25 after deciding to return to the Wildcats for a second go-round in Tucson, and sixth college season overall.
Now, she’s on a mission to make the most of her final year.
In Beh’s return announcement, she said, “I hope to return all the love I have been given. I am so proud to be a Wildcat forever.”
‘Been there, done that at every level’
This offseason, Kamiko Williams joined Barnes’ staff as special assistant to the head coach. This was a position that UA assistant coach Bett Shelby held for one season before moving into her current role last season.
In addition to helping Barnes and the program on anything from academics to organizational needs and putting new systems in place, she is also another coach of sorts.
Williams played for legendary coach Pat Summitt at Tennessee. She also played professionally for the New York Liberty and overseas in Israel before having a career-ending injury.
“She brings a lot,” Barnes said. “I love when there’s someone who actually has been there, done that at every level.”
Barnes added that Williams, a former post player, also brings a different energy to the coaching staff in that she is that “younger, cooler, hipper coach that knows the music and knows the swag that I don’t know because I’m too old.”
“Now, I’m old enough to be their moms,” Barnes said with a laugh.
After Williams’ playing career ended, she coached at New Haven, Monmouth, Nicholls State and Weber State; the latter stop included working with UA assistant Anthony Turner. Most recently, she worked as an academic coach at Tennessee and thought she was done with the basketball side of things until she talked to Barnes.
“(It was) watching how she was with her team,” Williams said of Barnes.
“I know with Pat a lot of times people we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s Pat Summit.’ No, she’s also like a mom, to all of us. She’s also a mentor,” Williams said. “I see that with Adia. Not a lot of times, at least some places I’ve been, students are just willing to come to the coach’s office. They be up there chilling, talking.
“She loves that. She invites that.”
Williams added that she needed that type of connection herself.
“I know I need that as a person. I need someone especially I can look up to. I’m a girl; you’re a black female like me. And you are 100%, you are straight, you are real, you don’t care. You going to be you, regardless. Morning to night; I love that. It gives me validation, right? That’s why I know it does for them (players), too. Just to be in that experience, it’s refreshing, really and truly,” Williams said.
Bulletin board material?
Arizona was selected to finish in seventh place by in the Big 12 by conference coaches on Thursday.
Utah is the only former Pac-12 team selected above UA — in sixth place. Colorado was picked to finish ninth and ASU in second-to-last place, just above Houston.
The Wildcats were also shut out in the conference’s preseason honor roll. The preseason conference player of the year prediction was Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee); newcomers to the league were one-time Arizona Wildcat Aaronette Vonleh of Baylor (who transferred from Colorado this offseason) and TCU’s Hailey Van Lith (a transfer from LSU); preseason freshman of the year went to Colorado’s Tabitha Betson. In addition, no individual Wildcats weren’t selected to the 10-person All-Big 12 team. Just one of the 10 preseason selections (Gianna Kneepkens of Utah) went to a player from one of the Big 12’s new 2024-25 additions in Arizona, ASU, Colorado or the Utes.
Under Barnes, however, the Wildcats have been overlooked before. In the now nine years that Barnes has coached Arizona, nearly every year the coaches in the Pac-12 picked the Wildcats to finish lower than they ended up.
Contact sports reporter PJ Brown at pjbrown@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @PJBrown09
