UA coach Adia Barnes on transfer portal, NIL: 'You better adapt ... or you're going to be left behind'

Adia Barnes and the Arizona Wildcats have experienced both sides of the transfer portal.

Like everyone else in college basketball, they’ve lost several players — and been able to replace them — during offseasons full of transactions.

Barnes addressed the portal — and its constant companion, NIL — in the second half of a wide-ranging interview with the Star.

She went in-depth on the new additions, among other topics, in Part 1. Here — just before the official announcement of the Adia Barnes Academy of Sports and Leadership and the kids camp she’s hosting on campus this week — she discusses the portal, NIL, family time, Sue Bird and other topics. The conversation has been lightly edited.

How would you describe what’s going on with the transfer portal and NIL over the last few months?

A: “For women’s basketball, basketball in general, this is the way it is. So, you better adapt and adjust, get with the program, or you’re going to be left behind. Remember early on, I was getting crushed because players were leaving? Now, on average people lose four players in their programs. But mine were just faster and earlier. It’s just the way it is.

“Players that don’t play or don’t play as much as they think they (should) are going to leave. Programs are going to change every year; Players are going to leave every year. The perfect example of how times have changed is that (Stanford coach) Tara VanDerveer had a few transfers this year and no one has probably done that in 20 years. Now, that’s a common thing. If kids are willing to leave Stanford, just imagine other programs.”

Did you expect all of this to happen this fast?

A: “I didn’t expect that it would happen so fast, so much money and to be unregulated like it is. I didn’t think people would be getting $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 (to switch schools) — I didn’t think that at all.”

Arizona doesn’t operate like that and doesn’t have that kind of money to pay the student-athletes. How do you adapt to this? How do you neutralize it and try to bring it back to an even playing field?

A: “For me, I have to go out and raise money if I want to compete. ... Collectives were started because people want to give money. If you give it to a university, it has to be under Title IX, so it has to be shared (with both men and women student-athletes). When you start these collectives, you can just give to men’s basketball or just give to football. We need to form our own collective (for women’s basketball). I’m going to be hiring someone who is going to help. That’s just what I have to do. Otherwise, we won’t be able to compete. And that’s the reality that people don’t want to hear. ...

“It’s another thing you have to do, and there is only so much time. We have to coach, manage our rosters, recruit kids we have, recruit other kids. If we’re not at the (high school) games, we’re not getting the kids, and now we have to go be a fundraiser. There is only so much you can do. It’s burning coaches out. You’re seeing coaches retire, and you’re going to see in the next couple of years coaches just get out of it.”

The NCAA has added the rule that you can add a few more assistant coaches to your staff — and non-coaching positions can also assist on the court. Do you see these new positions as an advantage?

A: “I think there is an advantage to have different opinions, different voices. I am not doing that right now just because of what I needed. We needed a graphics person, so that person won’t coach. And we needed other things so I am prioritizing a little differently right now.

“If Aari McDonald would have come back, she would have been directly involved in coaching this year. But Aari is going to go play overseas and probably come back later. In the future, it will be good to have another person for development and to help when we’re recruiting players. There are huge advantages to these new NCAA rules.”

You took a few vacations over the last month to Maui and Sedona. How was it to finally take some time off?

A: “We haven’t had a whole lot of family time because we have to work. We sneak away to see family for a couple of days. We go to Italy, but then we are just seeing Salvo’s family. (UA assistant coach Salvo Coppa is Barnes’ husband.) We don’t ever get just our immediate family. We brought Salvo’s mom to Maui. It was wonderful. It was her first time on Maui. Italians don’t go to Maui because it’s so far. It’s something they see on TV and dream about. His mom loved it. It was amazing. We had a beautiful vacation together.

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“Time together was so important. Fast-forward to Sedona, we just wanted to go there. We took the team there (last year), but we never take a vacation just us four (Coppa and their two young children, Capri and Matteo) — no babysitters, no nannies, no in-laws. We decided let’s go and spend time with the kids. Salvo and I knew we’d need a vacation from the vacation, but we wanted quality time with the kids that we don’t get. That was beautiful. No tablets, no TV — well, maybe cartoons in the morning.

“It was an amazing trip for our family. We went stargazing — looking at the stars through telescopes. We went on nature walks and little hikes, and we went into the canyon on the jeep tour. It was really fun, and we realized we need to do more of that because we don’t get that enough.”

What are Matteo’s and Capri’s favorite activities these days?

A: “They always love to paint. Capri likes finger-painting. She paints in the bathtub — we have bathtub paint. She’s like a paint freak. She’ll make a face and say, ‘I want to paint.’ She loves it.

“Matteo is a really good drawer, so he is drawing a lot. That’s what they are into right now. Matteo is going to our camp and the men’s basketball camp. And we’re starting with swimming.”

Every offseason you work on learning and your growth as a coach. Whether it’s coaching with USA Basketball at the AmeriCup, putting on coaching clinics in Italy with Salvo or training with other coaches. Do you have any plans for this summer?

A: “We are going to have a lot of family time and take breaks so we are not burned out during the year. I’ll probably do something before the end of the summer like go study with someone. I just haven’t planned it yet because we have so many new players and staff. I don’t think it’s the time to leave for two weeks.”

Last weekend you were in Seattle for the jersey retirement of WNBA great and your former Seattle Storm teammate, Sue Bird. What made Sue such a special player and teammate?

A: “Sue is an amazing person. It’s funny because even as a rookie, she wasn’t like some superstar, she was just Sue. Even now, if you know her, she’s just Sue. She hasn’t changed. I think it makes her easy to follow. She’s a great teammate. The bad thing about playing with Sue — and this is before she was big time — she ruined it because now I expect all point guards to be like her!

“My view of a point guard and a center with Lauren Jackson, who was one of the best, was like, ‘Why can’t you be more like Lauren and Sue?’ And there are no Laurens and Sues. They are just different. That was my reference.

“I gave Sue her first assist. I was her first roommate. We were roommates for three or four years. She was in my wedding. I’ve watched her grow. It’s been such a fun journey, a long journey (21 years), and Sue got better as she got older. It’s amazing to be part of that.”

Did you know when you played with her at the beginning of her career that she would become arguably the best point guard to ever play in the WNBA?

A: “No. I knew she would be one of the best. Ticha Penicheiro (whom Barnes played with before Bird) was one of the best. But I didn’t think she’d end up being the best and play 21 years. Back then, Sue’s hip and knees — she had all these injuries. It’s funny because in her speech she thanked her left knee and it was hilarious. I don’t know how that baby lasted so long. Sue hasn’t changed one bit, and I’m happy to see her happy with Megan (Rapinoe).”

Your kids camp — for both boys and girls — is coming up next week. I know this is one of your favorite activities of the summer. Will your players be involved this year?

A: “Yes, most of them will be working it. Some will come in at different times because of classes, and a few players are with their national teams. But they will be around, I’ll be around. My kids are going, Chris Allen’s kids will be there and other staff who have kids.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun, and these are the last few days for everyone to sign up. So sign up! It’s for the community, and it’s important for me to keep doing things for the community.”

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