Arizona will have an opportunity to play this season, and for head coach Adia Barnes she now knows that is true. Nearly everything else surrounding the upcoming remains uncertain, but that is life in the time of a pandemic.

Barnes has remained confident that teams in the Pac-12 would ultimately be allowed to get on the floor once again sooner rather than later. The conference decided in August that there would be no competition in the fall meaning basketball season would be delayed.

The league reversed that decision last Thursday as it announced football, men's basketball and women's basketball would all be cleared to begin competition in November. The basketball teams will be able to start their seasons with the rest of the country starting Nov. 25.

It is a decision that left Barnes happy after an uncertain several months coming off an impressive season.

"I was pretty optimistic and I thought we were gonna be able to play ... but I'm just so excited that we're actually going to be able to play," she said during a virtual press conference with reporters Friday. "Just excited that we have a definitive date we know we're playing not just like, 'oh, we think we're gonna play.'

"Mentally for the players it's important. We're motivated, we're working hard in practice."

Barnes has not been able to attend every workout and practice up to this point since she recently gave birth to her second child, but she has been able to watch practice and is planning to return full time in a couple weeks.