Adia Barnes is talking about Joan Bonvicini, and you can hear the pride, love and respect in her voice.
Barnes is excited for Bonvicini — the winningest coach in UA women’s basketball history — to join her in the Arizona Hall of Fame. Bonvicini and the other inductees will be honored Thursday night at the Westin La Paloma.
“It’s awesome. I am happy for her. She deserves every bit of it,” said Barnes. “I’m just glad I can be there. I am there to support her in everything she does. She’s always supported me so it’s the least I can do is to be there. I am just happy to be a part of it.”
That was just the beginning of Barnes’ appreciation for the woman she calls “Coach B.” Barnes tells her players who want to play professionally that it’s all about having one coach believe in you.
For Barnes, that coach was Bonvicini. She saw something in Barnes as a San Diego high-schooler, offering her a scholarship on the spot the very first time the two met. That moment set Barnes on a path that eventually brought her full-circle as the UA’s women’s basketball coach.
“She believed in me when no one else did and I think I … turned out better than she even thought I would. Because of my mentality. She saw that,” Barnes said. “I hope that I can see that in certain players. I was that diamond in the rough.”
That’s not to say Bonvicini took it easy on her. Barnes said her freshman year was rough.
“It was like ‘she’s always picking on me,’ but it was for my growth,” Barnes said. “Then your next year (or) your junior year, you understand it’s for your best interest. She always knew how to extract the best out of you. She knew when to kick me in the butt, she knew when to pat me on the back. I would have run through a wall for her.
“I knew she cared. She wanted me to be the best I could be. She believed in me. I think also one thing that made me so affectionate to her and just care about her is she believed in me when no one else did.”
And when Barnes returned to the UA four years ago, Bonvicini was waiting with advice. Barnes was 38 at the time she was hired, one year older than Bonvicini was when she took over in 1991. The Wildcats’ program was in a similar slump.
Barnes’ rebuilding process looks a lot like Bonvicini’s did. The Wildcats won the WNIT in Barnes third season in charge; Bonvicini did it in her fifth season.
“It’s incredible,” Barnes said. “But she’s been a Hall of Famer; she has so many awards. I can only dream of having as many wins as she has. I don’t know if I can ever get there. It just means a lot. She’s earned the respect she has. But, it’s hard, coaching is hard. Winning is hard. When you sit in this chair, you respect her even more. Before you don’t really know. You respect the wins and losses and all the accolades. But you truly don’t understand how hard it is until you sit in this chair. And you say, ‘Wow, winning is hard. Going to the Final Four is very hard. Winning championships, winning the Pac-12 is very hard. Recruiting top classes is challenging.’ So you don’t understand all of that until you are in it. So it makes all the stuff she has done even more impressive.”
Bonvicini is still is a major force in Barnes’ life. The two talk often, especially when times get tough.
“If I have adversity with my team, my staff or making a big decision, I call her because I trust her,” Barnes said. “I know she is going to give me honest feedback. She’s going to tell me the truth whether I am wrong or right. She’s not just going to tell me I’m right. And when I’m really frustrated about something — gosh, I’m at my wit’s end — she’s always like ‘hey, think about this.’ She always gives me a solution or something to focus on or a different way to handle it. Because she’s been through every facet of what I am going through for many years. So I’ve done it for four years, she did it for … 30. So I think she’s already seen everything I’m going through and she’s worked through it.
“I think it’s good to have someone like that. They are not trying to have your job, they don’t have a vested interest. They just care about you and want you to do well, so they are going to be honest. She always willing to help and is always an ear. I’ve called her sometimes and complained for 40 minutes. But, she always has a positive outlook. It’s never negative and there is always a solution on how to make it better or fix it. Sometimes I don’t like that solution, but I listen and I trust her. It’s important to have her. She helps me tremendously.”
Bonvicini once said that the four most important words in the English language are: I believe in you.
Barnes first heard those words when Bonvicini offered her a scholarship. They were repeated during her storied college and pro playing career. And that belief didn’t’ stop when Barnes came back to the UA as a coach.
“She means so much to me. She’s like family. I love her,” Barnes said. “She’s someone who has always been consistent — (a) constant in my life. I could turn to her for anything. I respect her so much. I look up to her. She is a tremendous role model, a mentor, a friend. All the things you could ask for in someone who can guide you. …
“She always believed in me in what I could do and what I could bring. I am so thankful for her. Without her I wouldn’t be here today. Without her I wouldn’t have been successful in college. Without her I would not have been a pro player. I would not have had all these opportunities without ‘Coach B.’”
