When the Arizona women’s basketball team huddles up in practice, the players and coaches all touch. Either they hold their fists out to stay in contact with the person on either side or they put their arms
around each other. It’s one of the themes of new head coach Becky Burke’s program.
“It’s just the culture and the foundation that we’re laying here,” Burke said. “We really pride on touching each other every time we’re in a huddle, symbolizing like nobody, nobody, nobody can break what we have here. It’s a circle that’s unbroken, and…we care about the people in our circle. We care about what they think. We care about what we’re doing. Nobody can break in or out of our circle.”
In addition to the unbroken circle in the huddle, the players’ voices are expected to be heard whether they are on the floor or not. Engagement with what’s happening is the expectation. One of the players who seems to embrace it the most is senior Fredriecka “Freddie” Wallace.
The Kansas transfer is currently out due to concussion protocol, but that did not mean she was not involved. She shouted encouragement, repeated her coach’s instructions, and was just generally engaged vocally throughout the hour or so that the media viewed practice on Tuesday afternoon.
“That’s just how I am,” Wallace said. “I’m out right now, so if there’s something I can bring, it’s my energy. And I’m just a very energetic person as it is, especially off the court. So if I can bring that during practice, I know I’ll help my team out in the long run.”
That focus on togetherness and supporting each other should never be taken as a sign of softness, though. If there’s one word that could best describe Burke’s practices—based on observation, player reports, and Burke’s own statements—it’s tough. She wants attention to detail at all times.
Burke is not afraid to correct. Her voice is dominant in practice and her vision is obvious when speaking with her players and assistants.
Point guard Noelani “Lani” Cornfield spent last year with Burke at Buffalo. She knows the expectations and the vision well.
“Attention to detail,” Cornfield said. “I mean, she stressed it every day. Attention to detail and consistency. If you’re not paying attention to details, then there could be 10 things that go wrong…and if you’re not consistent, then what are you? We can’t have two up days and two down days, because really, we’re right back to where we started. It’s just kind of taking two steps forward and two steps back.”
The consistency isn’t just something Burke wants from her players. She demands it from herself and her program as a whole.
“That’s all discipline and culture that we’re laying right now,” Burke said. “As far as this is just how we do things here at Arizona, and this is why the communication, the energy, all of that stuff is the way that I run my program. So that’s not something that’s going to change. You could come back year five or six, it’s going to be the exact same. But it’s hard because all these players have come from different programs where some coaches just don’t care about the stuff that I care about. I care about the details. I care about the execution, the accountability, like every day. I don’t care about something on Tuesday and Thursday and not care about it on…Monday, Wednesday, Friday. They’re held to a standard here, and they were told that before they got here, and now they’re here, and they’re actually living it, and it is so important to the foundation we are laying this year for the future years.”
Burke not only realizes that many players aren’t used to this, she also knows that many wouldn’t be happy with the kind of demands she has. That’s why recruiting the right players is so important.
“Not everybody’s able to play for me,” Burke said. “We understand that. We know that. So, from a personality standpoint, a character standpoint, can they play for for somebody like me? Can they be held to the standard that these players are held to? And then also, are they good enough?”
Burke did her best to put her team together quickly after getting hired a little late in the calendar and having only one returner on the roster. Now, it’s time for her players and staff to do the best they can in the time they have to lay the foundations for future years.
“We are working extremely hard,” Burke said. “We are leaving no stone left unturned. This is a team that is going to give everything they have every single night. Everybody knows it’s going to be a process, but I think we’re going to be very, very surprisingly competitive and just a pleasant breath of fresh air in terms of style of play, character of our young women, teamwork, preparedness…and just, I think it’s going to be a year that everyone’s pleasantly surprised. I think we’re going to be a lot more competitive than people think. And then I think it’s going to give them something super, super exciting to look forward to in the coming years.”
