Editor’s note: This article is part of the Star’s 2017-18 basketball guide, which runs in Sunday’s paper.
Adia Barnes doesn’t limit herself geographically as she searches for future Wildcats.
During this past recruiting season, the UA’s women’s basketball coach has flown to Texas, Washington, Illinois and Italy.
Yes, Italy.
The overseas trip wasn’t such a stretch for Barnes, who played in Italy and whose husband, UA assistant Salvo Coppa, is Italian-born and has deep ties there.
Coppa was instrumental in gaining a verbal commitment from five-star player Valeria Trucco from Turin for the class of 2018.
Barnes also used her European connections last year to land Spain’s Lucia Alonso.
Barnes’ overseas ties would give Arizona even more of an identity and an edge if more teams weren’t already doing it. Eleven Pac-12 schools have at least one foreign-born player on their rosters.
Oregon coach Kelly Graves also has a sophomore from Spain, Maite Cazorla, and three players from Australia.
Oregon State’s roster includes players from Poland and Germany. Washington State has players from Bulgaria, Serbia, Portugal, Greece, France and Australia. In fact, only one Pac-12 school hasn’t tapped into this market: Washington.
Barnes says the overseas recruiting is competitive but friendly.
In late July, Barnes traveled to Udine, Italy, to watch Alonso play for Spain’s U19 team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
She wasn’t alone. Ten coaches, including Tennessee’s Holly Warwick, UConn’s CD Daily and UCLA’s Cori Close attended the same tournament. Barnes posted a photo to Instagram of the coaches crammed into a small car.
“We were all sitting in the gym for 12 hours straight,” Barnes said. “We went in search for lunch as everything is closed in Italy at lunchtime. We ended up in a mall. We didn’t know where to go.”
Barnes said she admires many of her colleagues, who she calls “great women.”
“I like the things Cori does with culture. CD is a friend and a mentor. She’s so smart and I love everything about her. Everybody wishes they have CD on their side,” Barnes said. “When we beat ASU last season, she texted me to congratulate me. Meanwhile, she was on like, what, a 90-game winning streak. The fact that she thinks about those things is amazing.
“I met Holly years ago when I was an assistant. She told me about a camp and sent me her notes!”
Barnes was also searching for something else on the July trip — her passport. Barnes lost hers, but may have gained a player — or two — along the way.
“Thank goodness,” she said, “I had a European card.”
