When she was younger, Adia Barnes scampered down to her local recreation center, braids swinging in her hair as she pushed open the doors and ran passed the men playing basketball. Never shy about sports, Barnes would grab a ball of her own and shoot for hours or play a pick-up game with friends. She was a self-proclaimed tomboy, and while her girlfriends played with dolls, she played with basketballs.

Barnes entered high school playing a number of sports including track, softball and volleyball. Yet, when she first tried out for her high school basketball team, she felt intimidated. Even though she had been recruited by the coach, she wasn't certain she had the skills to play an organized game. She soon found out real basketball was far different from the street ball she usually played.

Yet Barnes proved that she was a quick learner, and by her senior year she averaged 24 points and 14 rebounds at Mission Bay High School in San Diego.

Her stock as a player rose quickly, and when Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini recruited Barnes, she was hoping to get the jewel of her new program. Barnes, a 5-foot-11 power forward, came in with a ton of accolades including an all-state selection and the California Intercollegiate Federation Co-Player of the Year.

When Barnes chose Arizona, it was a significant commitment from one of California's top recruits. It was also a sign that Arizona's program was on the verge of success.

"I love San Diego, but I really liked the Arizona program," Barnes said. "I wanted to go to a bigger school that was in the Pac-10 and I didn't want to stay too close to home."

In her first-ever collegiate game against Florida, Barnes scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. She only scored four points in her next two games, but showed exactly how good she could be when she scored 30 against Fresno State Dec. 9, 1994. She earned Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Week honors that week and has earned three more since then. She earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors last season.

"It wasn't an easy transition from high school to college, but I think I adjusted pretty well," Barnes said. "The level of competition is definitely more difficult. In high school there were one or two good players. Now everyone is as good or better than you are."

Barnes, now a sophomore, does not like to think of herself as one of the conference's premier players, yet she has proven time and again she is just that. This season she has broken the 30-point plateau twice, against Harvard and UCLA, and is averaging 17.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She leads Arizona in both scoring and rebounding and has become one of the biggest inside threats in the conference. Still, according to Barnes, she has the potential to become even better.

"I have so much room to improve," Barnes said. "I can be a better defender, I can become a better ball handler, I can be more of a perimeter threat."

Bonvicini also knows Barnes can improve, but she is also one of Barnes' biggest supporters.

"Barnes is a great athlete and a very coachable player," Bonvicini said. "She has a lot of skill and is only going to get better as she matures."

Barnes is perhaps the centerpiece of the young group that has spearheaded the Wildcats' success this season. Arizona (16-5 overall record and 7-5 in the Pac-10) is off to its best start ever and Barnes, along with senior point guard Brenda Pantoja and senior guard Andrea Constand, are consistently the top performers for the Wildcats.

"No one can guard her when she plays with attitude," Pantoja said. "When she's hyped and intense, no one can stop her."