It may be the offseason, but there will be basketball played at McKale Center this week.
Young girls will be playing games, doing drills and getting tips from Arizona women’s basketball coaches at the Adia Barnes Basketball Camp.
A few weeks ago, it was Barnes and assistant coach Salvo Coppa soaking up the knowledge at a camp of their own. Well, when you’re a coach it’s called a clinic. Yet, it is pretty similar.
And, Barnes admits that while her clinic was a little different, she was just as excited to attend, as she is to host her camp.
Their clinic was in Southern California and was headed by Russ Davis, a longtime coach for Vanguard University’s women’s basketball and Nike Cal Swish, an AAU team.
“Russ is one of the most respected coaches,” said Barnes. “He does it the right way and gives back to the game. He has a great basketball mind. Russ shares it—he’s genuine, a good leader, a good man and a good coach. I value his friendship. Few people grow the game as Russ does.
“It’s an invite-only clinic, only 30 people attend. It’s not about competing, it’s sharing information. Russ uses this as a fundraiser for his college and it’s awesome to be part of it.”
It definitely was not about competing, as fellow Pac-12 women’s basketball coach, Cal’s Lindsay Gottlieb, also participated.
For Coppa, it’s a chance to continue to bring the latest — new ideas and even different ways to teach his position players.
“It’s important to hear other voices,” said Coppa. “I like to hear what other coaches do on the court. Everybody has a chance to stand up and talk about a particular offense or defense—to participate. It’s a great learning experience. If I see a drill I like, when I do my individual work with my position players, I bring it.”
When Coppa coached in Europe, he had more free time — they don’t recruit like in the United States— and he watched other coaches’ practices and asked questions to enrich his coaching skills.
He’s not the only one on Barnes’ staff who does this. They all attend clinics and practices in the offseason. One such clinic is the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association convention held at the Final Four every year.
It’s part of growing and keeping up with the game. As Barnes puts it: “You have to get better. You have to learn, grow and evolve.”
So, the notion that coaches have a style and just coach is not really valid?
“If you ask (UA) coach Sean Miller how he was in year 1 versus year 15 — it’s night and day,” said Barnes. “For me, it’s something that I need to improve every year or I’m not doing my job well. If I don’t improve from year 1 to year 5, then that’s not good. For me as an athlete, I have a characteristic that I am never satisfied. If you are not growing, you are dying and you won’t last in this profession unless you get better.
“You can read a book or talk to someone for 15 minutes —I’d rather do this. Russ is someone I can turn to with questions, as a friend. You have to create a network of people you trust to get better. I have friendships with Kevin McGuff at Ohio State, Mike Neighbors at Arkansas and Fred Castro at Eastern Michigan. I run things by them, like what do I do in this situation? It’s a hard business — you always have to learn to get better.”
One special guest at the clinic was Kobe Bryant. Both Barnes and Coppa enjoyed listening to Bryant and watching him coach his daughter Gianna’s team — where he runs Phil Jackson’s and Tex Winters’ triangle offense.
“He talked about his drills, what he did with the Lakers and Phil Jackson, the importance of technique in passing the ball,” said Coppa. “It was a mix of technique, tactics and the mental game.
“It was also beautiful to see him working out his girls’ team, the father-daughter relationship. And his interest in women’s basketball, Diana Taurasi, and UConn women’s basketball.”
Coppa also had a little fun with Bryant. Bryant grew up in Italy, so Coppa walked up and said “Ciao, Kobe!”
“It was funny; he asked why I spoke Italian,” laughed Coppa, who was born in Italy. “We talked a little in Italian and everyone thought we were old friends. His Italian was excellent.”
Barnes’ focus this week turns to the girls attending her camp. It’s her third since becoming Arizona’s head coach.
Girls from second to eighth grades will attend day camp Monday through Thursday, and high school varsity teams will attend Friday and Saturday.
“We are trying to develop the future,” said Barnes. “When you are the head coach at this college, the kids should want to come be a part of Arizona women’s basketball. They should grow up and want to be a Wildcat, just like the young men in Tucson. I want the young women to aspire to play on our team one day.”
