Editor’s note: This article is part of the Star’s 2017-18 basketball guide, which runs in Sunday’s paper.
Recruiting comes down to relationships. If a player feels at home on campus and buys into the vision of the team — and more importantly, that of the coach — they are in.
Adia Barnes has this relationship thing down. And it shows.
Take a look at what she’s accomplished in the past 18 months, since she took over for Niya Butts as coach of the Arizona Wildcats. Barnes has landed:
- One top European player who started as a freshman (Lucia Alonso).
- Three top-rated freshmen (Sammy Fatkin, Sam Thomas, and Kiana Barkhoff).
- Four transfers (Kat Wright, Aari McDonald, Dom McBryde, and Tee Tee Starks).
- A 2018 recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the nation, with a five-star player in Cate Reese.
Barnes admits she was under the gun in the beginning and “so late on so many kids,” yet she has quickly caught up to the rest of the nation and definitely has momentum now.
“It’s no surprise Adia is having success,” said WNBA star Sue Bird, who won a championship with Barnes as part of the Seattle Storm in 2004. “She has a lot of passion for Arizona. You are not going to meet anyone more genuine than Adia. She makes you feel like a million bucks all the time.”
Whether it is the security crew at Key Arena when she was a player and broadcaster or the next recruit, that genuine caring comes through.
Just listen to what a few of her transfers say about why they selected Arizona.
“I felt a presence here that was missing all my life,” McBryde said. “I connected with coach right off the bat.”
“Relationships are very important to me,” McDonald said. “My relationship with coach Adia and Coach (Morgan) Valley are strong.”
And here’s why her 2018 recruits want to come to UA:
“I knew from the beginning I wanted to play for her,” Shalyse Smith said. “She’s what you want as a coach. She cares about you as a person more than just a player.”
Added Bryce Nixon, another 2018 commit: “I’ve never been more excited than to play for Arizona. I can’t wait to see what we can build here. I love the coaching staff — I believe in them and trust them.”
Barnes’ reputation on the recruiting trail is growing. Arizona is battling Cal, Oklahoma, Oregon State and Texas A&M for players.
Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb said that she respects the job Barnes is doing in Tucson.
“I’m sure the personality traits that made her successful on the court have also made her successful as a head coach,” she said. “I’m not surprised at the early success she’s had. Adia did a terrific job at Washington and is a really great fit at Arizona. I know she’s the type of coach that players are drawn towards.”
How did Barnes get here?
“Adia is a force of nature,” said Mary Murphy, Pac-12 Networks women’s basketball analyst. “Her breadth of experience, as a player, as an assistant coach, as a head coach that has taken her all over the world and in the WNBA. She’s been so successful and she played at Arizona, loves the university and Tucson. She bought a house a half-mile from campus.
“Her commitment is the fabric of who she is. She is not selling, she is sharing this to recruits and saying ‘we picked you.’ It’s hard to say ‘no’ to that.
“Adia is so upbeat and energetic, along with the investment Arizona has made in the basketball facilities—not all schools have that —and she has a terrific staff. She is doing it the right way. And, she is extremely loyal; you see how reverently she talks about her coach Joan Bonvicini.”
Barnes will tell you that her philosophy was to go after the best kids on and off the court — players that wanted to be part of building the UA program.
That’s why you see the transfers: McDonald, from Washington, who made the Pac-12 All-Freshman team; McBryde, All-Big Ten honorable mention from Purdue; Starks from Iowa State; and Wright from Florida Atlantic.
“It’s huge that we got top transfers,” said Barnes. “They played significant minutes and have that championship mentality.”
Next is securing that 2018 class, as you can’t count them until you sign them. Barnes is looking at one or two more players for 2018 or might just wait until the 2019 class.
Barnes’ strategy is already shifting a bit. This 2018 class has a lot of post players, something Arizona is missing on this season’s squad.
“Depending on how we finish with that 2018 class, we’ll look at our positional needs,” said Barnes. “We’re solid at point guard and guard. We might go for a specialist like a tall wing. We’ll have to access our needs. There is always pressure. It’s just different now.”
Murphy said it might take a little while for UA to move up from being selected to finish 11th in the conference by the Pac-12 coaches. But, it will come soon enough.
“It’s very, very challenging to play catch-up in the Pac-12,” said Murphy. “Fans need to be patient. But down the road, people will only be using her first name ‘Adia’, like they do with ‘Tara’ (VanDerveer from Stanford). She’s going to get there.”
And, Murphy added: “No one takes the floor against one of Adia’s teams and thinks it’s an easy one.”
