Staff Reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 15, 1998

Sidelines

Now that former UA forward Adia Barnes has signed with the Women's National Basketball Association, she is getting ready to get down to business as she sets off today for Chicago to participate in the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp.

The Camp, held on the campus of the Moody Bible Institute over the next three days, will feature college seniors, veterans with prior experience and international players competing for draft positions.

Barnes, who will attempt to move from a forward to a more guard-like wing player, is currently being projected as a late first round or early second round selection for the April 29 draft.

One team that might hold interest in Barnes would be the Phoenix Mercury, who has the eighth pick in the ten-pick first round.

Mercury head coach Cheryl Miller has been frequently spotted at Wildcat games this past season and the organization might want to capitalize on Barnes' popularity throughout Arizona.

To be successful Barnes said she needs to work on her ball handling skills and develop more range on her jump shot to adapt to playing her offensive game outside of the paint.

While at Arizona, Barnes, who was named the 1998 Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Year, rewrote the Arizona record books, setting new highs for career scoring, rebounding and steals along with 17 other categories ranging from personal fouls (413) to free throws made in a season (154 in 1998).

Barnes, a first team USBWA All-American and honorable mention WBCA Kodak All-American, was named to the All-Pac 10 First Team the last three seasons and led the league in scoring last year with 21.8 points a game.

Briefly

The 11th Annual Lute Olson Celebrity Auction is slated for tonight at the Marriott University Park Hotel from 5:30 to 9:30. The auction will benefit the Arizona Arthritis Center at UA's College of Medicine. Participants will bid on sports memorabilia, artwork, vacation packages and other prizes. One lucky bidder will win a round of golf with Olson and a few Wildcat players in the celebrity golf tournament taking place on Saturday.

By the Numbers

2,237:

Number of points forward Adia Barnes finished her 4-year UA career with. It is second only to the former UA standout and current San Antonio Spur Sean Elliott.