Isis Beh weighs in on what she’d like to see and from whom
Arizona’s fifth-year forward Isis Beh was consigned to the sidelines for Monday’s game against Seattle University due to concussion protocol. After failing to get cleared on Tuesday, she will sit out again against GCU on Thursday.
“I took the computer test yesterday, and I didn’t do well on it,” Beh said Wednesday afternoon. “So, I’m not allowed to retake the computer test until Friday. It’s just the protocols. I feel better today, but I can’t take the test back-to-back days, because of this protocol.”
She has been given some responsibilities for taking stats during games. She enjoys playing coach while she sits out. It has also given her time to watch what’s happening on the court and pick out some of the things that are missing.
“More communication,” Beh said. “I feel like I talk a lot, and so just someone stepping up and talking more.”
During practice, the Arizona coaches have boards lined up along the sidelines of McKale Center. Each board has a different word on it. Fittingly, there were two words that were repeated in different locations. One of the repeats was “heart.” The other was “communication.”
Beh has someone in particular who she would like to see communicate more.
“Hopefully, Montaya (Dew) does that,” Beh said. “I want that from her, so we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”
Dew is by nature a shy, quiet person. She has started to come out of her shell after almost two years in college, but it’s a process. Beh would like to see that process kick-started, especially since Dew will be playing more of the four position for the Wildcats while her teammate is waiting to clear protocol.
Head coach Adia Barnes often talks about the importance of the four in Arizona’s system. She says that the offense runs through the four. On defense, the four is involved in trapping. In most ways, it’s the position that most suits Dew’s game: a facilitator on offense whose length bothers opponents from the one through the five on defense. The communication part is the lone part that doesn’t fit into her natural game.
Her teammates are trying to help her along.
“Me and Jada (Williams) have expressed to her that being at the four, you got to talk a lot because you’re right there with the point guard,” Beh said. “So if the point guard calls out a play, you gotta echo it so that everyone else on the floor knows the play. You’re up there in the screens. You gotta call out the screen and stuff so the guards don’t get hit and injured and stuff like that. I think she is getting better at it.”
At Wednesday’s practice, the lack of communication in the post was clear. The only voices that could regularly be heard were guards. Williams and Paulina Paris were the most vocal. As the primary point guards, that wasn’t a surprise. On occasion, Skylar Jones and Lauryn Swann spoke up. Of the bigs, only Jorynn Ross used her voice enough to be heard from off the court.
One of the sideline words that wasn’t repeated but perhaps needed to be was “energy.”
“The energy is bad, as you can see,” Barnes said.
After practice, the team gathered in a circle as Barnes talked about that lack of energy once again. It’s a concern as the team prepares to face a Lopes team that has only lost two games. Both were on the road against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25.
The absence of energy was easy to see. The players all slouched on the sidelines for most of the three hours. In drills, there wasn’t much urgency. The communication was lacking.
They started to loosen up late in the session, even smiling and joking on the sidelines. Those who weren’t on the court stood together. They held their hands out to dap teammates as they came in and out of drills.
It wasn’t universal, though. Sahnya Jah was noticeably distant from her teammates throughout practice, sitting or standing apart from the group all afternoon. It seemed to linger even as they gathered to sing “Happy Birthday” to her and share treats before Barnes addressed the team.
Beh, Brooklyn Rhodes, and Ajae Yoakum all returned from the weight room to take part in shooting. Rhodes has only appeared in one game this season and has not been dressed out for the past few games. Yoakum tore her ACL within weeks of arriving in Tucson this summer; she will not play this year but is engaging in non-contact and strength training.
The kind of support the trio provides each other is what one would hope to see from all teammates.
“Once they start adding a defense, we go into the weight room and do conditioning,” Beh said. “So, I mean, we’re pushing each other in conditioning to make sure to keep our minds right so that we can stay ready, stay in shape before we get back.”
The 11 players who will be suited up on Thursday need to make sure their minds are right and they are ready or it could be a fourth loss before Big 12 play even starts.