Wildcats coach Adia Barnes has kidney infection, remains in Tucson hospital

Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes remains hospitalized after being diagnosed with a kidney infection.

Barnes posted a message to social media early Thursday morning, saying that she’s still in the hospital and “everybody’s treating me good.”

“Even though I look like I’m dead — or dang near — I’m actually OK: I just have a kidney infection,” she said. “Not COVID. But at this point, I wish I had COVID versus a kidney infection.”

Barnes said she didn’t know what caused her kidney infection. She had no early symptoms. “And then I started getting fevers,” she said. “Fevers at my age are not fun.”

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Barnes, 45, has been ill for most of this week.

The Wildcats’ popular coach has had an eventful offseason, welcoming in the highest-rated freshman class in program history, hiring a new special assistant to the head coach, Bett Shelby, and announcing a December game against powerhouse Baylor in Dallas.

Just Monday, Arizona received a commitment from Jada Williams, a five-star guard from La Jolla Country Day in San Diego.

One of the greatest players in UA history and a $1-million-a-year coach in the ultra-competitive Pac-12, Barnes led the Wildcats to the 2021 Final Four, where they advanced to the national championship game before losing to Stanford. The UA made the round of 32 in this year’s NCAA Tournament.