Adonis Arms: Embracing Opportunity

By Texas Tech Athletics

January 5^th, 2022

Written by Wes Bloomquist

Portraits by Elise Bressler

Six years and three schools ago, Adonis Arms was given the last jersey available in his size, a spot at the end of the bench and an opportunity to earn playing time for the Mesa Community College Thunderbirds. Nothing more was promised. Today's reality of playing at Texas Tech wasn’t even a thought. His main goal at that time was to get into a junior college game and prove himself.

“I had to trust that my hard work was going to pay off,” Arms says. “I’m determined and believed in myself. Always have.”

“From day one at Mesa, Adonis wasn’t given anything,” says former Mesa Community College assistant coach Mike Contreras. “He had to take. He got last pick on jerseys, so he wore 42. He had a relentless work ethic and his confidence was through the roof. He never took ‘no’ for an answer.”

Now in his sixth season and playing for his fourth team, Arms has proven to be adept at making the most of opportunities - going from the Mesa bench to making his Big 12 debut as a starter for Texas Tech tonight against No. 11 Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum. His is a unique, challenging and rewarding ride, working his way into a prominent role for the No. 25-ranked Red Raiders after two seasons at Mesa Community College (2016-18), one year at Northwest Nazarene (2018-19) and two seasons at Winthrop University (2019-21). “Patience. Belief in God. Hard work. That’s how I’m here,” Arms says. "My goal is to make the NBA. I've always told my mom and sister that. I'm not going to stop working until I get there."

Arms is averaging 8.4 points, 2.2 assists and 3.3 rebounds through 12 games this season, including making starts in the last three games after playing all 23 as a reserve last season at Winthrop. “My overall game has really developed,” Arms says. “My passing, defense and shooting has really improved over the years." A double-figure scorer in four straight games, Adonis went for his season-high of 15 points against Arkansas State before going for 14 points against Gonzaga in his first start since the 2018-19 season at the Division II level. A dynamic scorer throughout his collegiate career, he’s now at 1,460 career points coming into the game against Iowa State and is second on the team with 26 assists after his second five-assist performance of the season in the last game.

"At this point in my career, I feel that I’m a better leader than I ever have been," he says. "That’s because of all my experiences.”

Determination has led Arms from his first opportunity at Mesa to his final collegiate season at Texas Tech with a head coach who understands the road he took to get here. Mark Adams’ journey is similar with him having coached junior college basketball at Clarendon College and Howard College along with at the DII level when he led West Texas A&M. “I have a lot of respect for him because of his journey,” Adams says. “It’s not easy for anyone to make it here on that path. It takes a lot of perseverance, commitment and belief.”

Arms was the second signee for Adams, inking his commitment on April 26, 2021 and moving to Lubbock the first week of June. He was there from the beginning as the team started taking shape with players being added from throughout the country throughout the summer. Arms immediately caught the attention of the coaching staff and his teammates with his leaping ability – leading the team in testing with a 45-inch vertical and also throwing down impressive dunks in workouts. His focus was on shot-making and defense all summer though. That's where he wanted to improve and elevate his game to another level. His infectious personality also became important to the team’s culture, bringing teammates together for a roster that has 10 newcomers on it. “He grinded to get here. You have to respect that,” Tech senior Davion Warren says.

“I connect with people fast,” says Arms who is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin but moved to Arizona when he was 12-years-old. “I’ve moved a lot and have learned that you have to want to develop relationships. You learn that when you move like I have. You have to trust people. You have to earn their trust. There’s not always time to feel situations out. Sometimes you just have to believe in people and connect.”

“I’m inspired by the way Adonis handles situations, recognizes opportunities and consistently adjusting with undeterred focus,” says his mom, Shayba. “Seeing Adonis succeed is the ultimate win for him. It affirms his focus and faith.”

Mesa Community College was about opportunity for Adonis. It was his first real challenge on the court after staring at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix. At Mesa, he wasn’t playing right away and had to fight his way into the rotation. In junior college, you need to do this fast. Everything seems accelerated. It was a year of growth though and showcased his potential. On the court, he would finish his freshman season averaging 8.1 points per game with a season-high coming with 27 points in a win over South Mountain Community College. He had 21 in a 20-point win over Phoenix College and Scottsdale Community College topped the Thunderbirds by one point in a game where Adonis had 20. Strong performance came in that freshman season. Opportunities to leave didn’t.

“I just had to keep working hard while I was there,” he says. “I believed in myself even on those really hard days.”

Arms changed numbers from 42 to 4 at the start of his sophomore season and admittedly embraced the opportunity at Mesa more in his second year than his first. He was starting to mature. He realized that overnight success doesn’t come for everyone and that dedicating himself to the game would start attracting attention. He finished that sophomore averaging 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He had four double-doubles that season, just missing a fifth with a season-high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds against Scottsdale. Arms was honored with all-conference and all-region honors and named the Mesa’s most valuable player following the season.

“Everyone’s experience is different whether you’re playing in junior college or high-level college basketball,” Arms says. “I made the most of mine at Mesa with the help of my coaches. I surrounded myself with great people who believed in me and pushed me every day I was there. I had the best people in my corner.”

Sometimes you find yourself in a place you never heard of or imagined being at only to discover it’s exactly where you were supposed to be at that time. That’s Nampa, Idaho. That’s Northwest Nazarene for Adonis. Stop two in his journey was unexpected, and at first a little disappointing. After two years at Mesa opportunity presented itself at Northwest Nazarene which is a Division II school with an enrollment of just over 1,200. Just like Mesa Community College, Northwest Nazarene was about opportunity. He had also received some Division I Mid-Major offers but saw the Nighthawks as the best option.

“I love that place,” Arms says. “So many great things happened to me during that time in my life.”

Arms immediately became a star in Nampa. He started his third season of college basketball by dropping 25 points in 21 minutes of play against Northwest Christian, going 10-for-14 from the field and also grabbing six rebounds in his first game for the Nighthawks. In 28 games that season, Arms scored in double figures in all 28 and would be named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year and also the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. He scored 20 or more points in half the games that year, including going for a season-high 34 points in a win over Western Washington where he was 11 of 17 from the field.

“Adonis had a high level of confidence, but more importantly had the work ethic to go with it,” says Northwest Nazarene head coach Paul Rush.

Arms and the Nighthawks finished the 2018-19 season with a 20-8 record after a loss to Seattle Pacific in the semifinals of the GNAC Basketball Championships in Bellingham, Washington. Adonis finished the game with 18 points and the season with 20.6 points per game. He still beams thinking of that team and his experience in Nampa.

“We were a family there,” Arms says. “It’s really almost just like I see it now here at Tech. Coach Rush pushed me just like Coach Adams does every day. He was a fierce coach who was genuine every day. He challenged me and made me a better person. It was a compassionate push that I’m always grateful for.”

Adonis was a star at Northwest Nazarene but didn’t have persistent thoughts to leave. This wasn’t like at Mesa where the plan was to get better, attract attention and go to the next level. He didn’t know anything about Nampa, Idaho before but now it felt like a destination, not just a step. We all know though that when talent and development increase our thoughts can shift. It’s human nature to feel the urge to progress. That’s what happened after he averaged over 20 points and 1.9 steals per game. He created more opportunities.

“He was a tremendous player for us, but he knew he had the capability to become even better,” Rush says. “He kept focused on what he had to do and kept improving.”

Rock Hill, South Carolina. That’s the next stop in his story. Adonis had used his opportunities in Mesa and Northwest Nazarene to earn his next opportunity – Winthrop University. The Eagles play out of the Big South Conference and have a strong basketball tradition. That’s what drew Adonis from Idaho to South Carolina. His dream of playing Division I basketball – the one that seemed unrealistic as he sat the bench to start his career at Mesa – was now a reality.

At Winthrop, Adonis had to sit out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He worked hard though, practicing with the team to help them prepare for games and developing his own skills. There’s something inside him that he always wants to prove he belongs. This is what drove him each day without the payoff of playing. The Eagles won the Big South regular-season championship that season and the conference tournament to secure a NCAA Tournament berth that was canceled due to COVID. Adonis watched that season from the sidelines knowing his time was coming.

The one season Arms played for Winthrop was somewhat magical. The Eagles finished the season with a 23-2 record and Big South regular-season and tournament championships. Adonis averaged 10.3 points per game in a reserve role for the team, coming off the bench in 23 games. He had 14 points in his first game for Winthrop against UNC Greensboro and scored a season-high 17 against Gardner-Webb.

“It was an awesome experience to win championships there,” says Arms who would earn his bachelor’s degree in sociology from the university. “There’s nothing like winning a championship no matter where you are or your role on the team. We came together and won two in a row there. I’ll always be proud of that.”

Winning the Big South gave Winthrop an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and a first-round matchup against Villanova. Arms scored 10 points and had three rebounds in the game which would be his last in a Winthrop uniform.

“There was definitely some adversity I had to get through there that I can look back on now and see that I’m better for it,” Arms says. “Every day is not easy. Life just isn’t that way. Sometimes you find yourself in situations where you need to rely on yourself. You can’t always have someone pulling you up. You have to find that in yourself. I did that there. Adversity builds character. I’m thankful for that experience.”

While he had already made it to Division I from his path that started in junior college, Arms saw another opportunity after his two seasons at Winthrop. He had grown as a player and had graduated. He was looking for one more opportunity – one that would lead him to Texas Tech.

Last April when Arms entered the transfer portal and started looking for his last destination, he quickly started reconnecting with coaches he had developed trust with over the years. There were a lot of them out there by this time in his career but some of the recruiting pitches were starting to sound like a rerun of a movie he had already been in. At this stage in his journey, Arms says he has a feel for people who are real and being genuine. He was looking for an opportunity, not elaborate promises. That’s what made Barret Peery stand out. The two had first met when Adonis was a freshman at Mesa Community College and Peery was starting his first season as the head coach at Portland State. Peery had coached at Arizona State and also at junior colleges and knew where to find talent in the Phoenix area. The two had actually even matched up against each other a couple years later on November 24, 2018, with Portland State taking on Northwest Nazarene in the Vandal Holiday Hoops Classic in Boise, Idaho. Adonis led the Nighthawks with 18 points in the game. Peery’s Vikings won the exhibition game. Now, in April 2021, with Peery the associate head coach at Texas Tech and helping recruit a new Red Raider roster, Adonis Arms was a name he felt comfortable with. He had immediately seen the potential back then and was excited about the opportunity to bring him to Lubbock. He was sold on the strong character of Arms – not from what others had told him – but rather from five years of watching his evolution.

“Adonis has continued to grow as a person and player every year,” Peery says. “At each level he kept getting better because he is so competitive and passionate about everything he does. He’s had a lot of great years leading into this opportunity here to prepare him for what he’s done so far and what we hope he can do for the team the rest of the season.”

Arms was the first of four super seniors to sign with the Red Raiders and the first of seven who would transfer to Tech from a Division I program. The team took shape throughout the summer and was completed when Terrence Shannon, Jr. made the decision to return and Kevin Obanor transferred from Oral Roberts after going through the NBA Draft Process. “I really liked how our team came together this summer. It was fast for all of us but a lot of us had transferred before so we knew what to expect. We were just ready to work right away. We knew we couldn’t waste any time.”

Transferring to Tech having already gone through five collegiate seasons and 104 career games, Arms had played in multiple roles. He’d been a bench player to start his freshman season in junior college before becoming an all-region player as a sophomore. He was a 20-point scorer and conference player of the year as a junior and a double-figure scorer as a reserve last season on an NCAA Tournament team as a senior. Arms had figured out how to find a role and how to help a team.

“He’s been playing a long time but he’s really starting to see who he is and what he can be,” Adams says. “It’s a lot of potential and he’s starting to discover what he can be for this team. We need him to stay in the moment. He has big plays in him on both ends of the floor. We just need that to become more consistent and I think he’s going to be a big contributor for us this season.”

It’s only 12 games into this season, but Arms has already showed versatility and patience of playing his role depending on the game, need or situation – coming off the bench the first nine games and starting the past three. Scoring one point in 14 minutes of play against North Florida in the season opener and then going for 14 points against nationally-ranked Gonzaga in a marquee matchup. Arms has scored in double figures the past four games and in six of 12 games this season. He’s also providing 2.2 assists per game after having five assists to go along with 11 points in the win over Alabama State leading into the matchup against Iowa State.

“I’m doing everything I can to take advantage of this opportunity,” Arms says. “I’m living in the moment. Doing everything I can to succeed and help the team win. There are long-term goals that I have but this is about right now for me. This is a stage where if you are focused it can lead to even greater opportunities.”