Three years ago, Adia Barnes was heading into her first go-around in Pac-12 play as Arizona’s coach.
Her squad had posted a 9-2 nonconference record but would go on to win only five more games that season.
When Barnes returned to her alma mater to coach, she was charged with turning around a program that hadn’t had a winning season or gone to the NCAA tournament in six years — and a program that hadn’t been consistently winning in more than a decade.
On Sunday, as Barnes kicks off her 2019-20 Pac-12 season in Tempe against rival ASU at noon, things look a lot different.
This year’s team is 11-0 — for the first time in UA history. The Wildcats are on a 17-game winning streak — going back to last year’s WNIT run, — which is the longest active winning streak in the country. They are ranked No. 18 in the country.
Arizona also has the nation’s top defense, ranking first in field goal percentage defense (29%) and scoring defense (43.6). They also have the fourth-highest scoring margin (+30.2) in the nation.
That’s one heck of a coaching job for anyone, let alone a first-time head coach. Most rebuilds take five or six years. Arizona’s took three.
Barnes has said that the program is now in the next phase — the climb.
As the program has quickly evolved so has its coach.
“The biggest thing is that when Adia first started she wanted to be at Arizona and be their head coach, and now she is — that may sound funny, but now she is comfortable with it and knows the ins and outs,” said Hartford coach Morgan Valley, a former UA assistant. “You see it in the way she is calling timeouts and drawing up plays and telling the players things from her 13 years as a professional (player).
“You can see it in the way the team is playing right now. She is getting more and more comfortable in her role. That goes with being a first-time head coach — experience is the only way to go through it.”
In the beginning it wasn’t easy.
That first year she had five seniors, and it was like turning a ship to change the culture in the 14-16 season. Once they graduated, it didn’t get easier. The next year they won only six games.
However, you could see a difference in Barnes. In practice, Barnes and her staff would have to repeat plays over and over again as some had a difficult time picking it up. As junior Sam Thomas said, “we were all taught in different ways and learn in different ways.”
Instead of getting frustrated with them or the losing season, Barnes found new ways to teach.
“She is very open as a coach and makes adjustments when she feels she can do a better job or she is not reaching players,” said Joan Bonvicini, former UA coach and current Pac-12 analyst. “She’s not afraid to critique herself — to say ‘I can do better.’
“She’s really grown as a coach and as a person, too. She’s handled adversity well and I think one of her best qualities is her willingness to learn and learn in different ways to be successful. I am really proud of Adia. Her best is yet to come.”
Instead of forcing a system on her players, she adapted her scheme to the talent on the court. In the beginning the players weren’t ready for the more sophisticated defense that Barnes now runs — the one that was developed with guard Aari McDonald in mind.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed how our offensive and defensive system was completely different the first year, a big part is there are different players. And Adia adapted her system to who she had,” UA assistant Salvo Coppa said. “I believe the part that makes Adia successful is that she’s a competitor, she knows basketball, and she gets better every year. She knows who our players are as people and as players. On the court, she’s able to adapt our system to who she has.”
Last year she had the right pieces in place — McDonald, Thomas, Lucia Alonso, Dominique McBryde, Tee Tee Starks, Cate Reese, Semaj Smith and Bryce Nixon — to teach the system she wanted to implement.
Yet, her lessons went way beyond the X’s and O’s. She taught them how to win and to believe in themselves. By the time the WNIT rolled around they knew they would win.
Barnes taught them one more important lesson that put them in the right frame of mind for that WNIT Championship run — how to deal with adversity. This came before they even stepped on the court at their preseason retreat.
Barnes said “remember, now everything looks beautiful, but you’re going through some adversity in a moment of the season,” Coppa said. “And now it’s how you react to that adversity that is going to make the difference between winning and losing.
“At first we had so much adversity. You see, not only the games that we lost by many points but more the games that we almost won. … I believe that in that moment, the team reacted very well, and we kept fighting through, and after that we won. I believe a big part of that is how the team reacted to the adversity. And how Adia taught us how to react to that.”
This season the Wildcats are still learning. Now it’s how to read and react to their opponent and counter with an adjustment — on their own — without Barnes having to call a timeout or yell from the sidelines. Barnes has said that she has learned to trust her players more, and along the way she has gained more comfort and confidence as head coach. Her players see it in how she teaches.
“She’s explaining and teaching us what we are doing and why we are doing it,” Thomas said. “There is a why to everything we do now.”
Senior point guard, Alonso, who was Barnes’ first recruit at UA, agrees.
“My first couple of years it was more about the big picture; now it’s about the details of what Coach Adia wants,” Alonso said. “As a player that helps you understand the game better and read different situations. Coach Adia is more confident now — in practice and in games. I see she really believes it and knows it’s the right thing.”
Barnes’ growth in these first years as a head coach goes hand in hand with the entire program’s jump. This includes her recruiting — getting a game-changing player in McDonald, as well as McBryde, Starks, Thomas, Reese and Smith — and changing the culture.
As she has engaged in the community, the community in turn has embraced her team. This was evident in the increasing attendance during the WNIT and sellout of the championship game. This has carried over to this season as the Wildcats averaged 4,650 fans during the first 11 games of the season.
It seems that Barnes was destined to return to her alma mater as head coach to turn around Arizona.
“Absolutely, I really believe that it was destined to be Adia,” Valley said. “If you know Adia, you know she sees something and goes at it 100%. She was that way as a player and now as a coach. She had a goal, a vision, and she’s taking what she wants. It’s even more special as it’s her alma mater. She takes pride in it. It’s a cool deal that it’s all come full circle.”
