Celebrating Pac-12 women's hoops: UA standout Julie Brase Hairgrove on what made the league special

The Pac-12 has stood out as one of the best women’s basketball leagues in the nation over the last two decades. This being the league’s final season, each month the Star is sharing Pac-12-centered stories of former Arizona players, as well as former and current league coaches. Up this week: Wildcat standout and Tucson high school hoops legend Julie Brase Hairgrove.

Hairgrove played for the Wildcats from 1998-2003 but was around McKale Center since she was a little girl as her grandfather is legendary UA men’s basketball coach Lute Olson.

She played on three NCAA Tournament teams as a Wildcat. Her name is sprinkled across the UA record books including three-point field goals made (125) to being the 2003 assists leader (128) and a three-time free-throw percentage leader in 1999 (81%), 2000 (83%) and 2003 (85%).

As a guard, she played the role of a coach on the court and after she finished her playing career at UA, became a coach — first at Loyola Marymount, then as an assistant for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for 17 years.

Pride in the Pac: “Growing up in Tucson, being in the West Coast, you always had the Pac-10/Pac-12 right in your backyard and Tucson such a basketball community town. I think just when I got really involved in basketball, obviously I watched the men’s game quite a bit. But when I started getting into the women’s game, Stanford was always a powerhouse with Kate Starbird and Jennifer Azzi and USC had Lisa (Leslie) and Tina (Thompson).

“Then, UA started coming around when Adia (Barnes) and coach Joan Bonvicini took over, making it to the Sweet 16. I think watching the Pac-10 growing up it was just somewhere you always wanted to play because it has so many great athletes, so many great coaches. You wanted to be a part of that.”

Best of the west: “The opponent that always sticks out is Stanford. They have a great coach in Tara VanDerveer, who always put a great team on the floor. I think Stanford was always that opponent that you always rise to that challenge to play them because everybody wanted to beat Stanford, because of, what they have done.

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“The rivalry against ASU was always fun. You always look forward to just for bragging rights. In my time at U of A we always beat ASU. That was always something we prided ourselves in.

“Nicole Powell is from Phoenix and she went to Stanford. I enjoyed playing against her and she was a great talent, who went on to the WNBA. I built a relationship with her when I coached in the WNBA. It’s funny how small the basketball world is. You may not have been friends with them when you’re competing against them in college, but then as you move on in your career, and I continued on in the basketball world, in the coaching world, a lot of those players started playing in the WNBA.

“I’d always run into Adia Barnes. Even though I never got to play with Adia as they were recruiting me when she was there, and she graduated when I came in as a freshman. It was following her career in the WNBA, too, and then meeting up with her when she was with Seattle Storm and I was with the Mercury. It’s just building those friendships and communicating with them. It always brought it back to the Arizona days or the Pac-12 days. It was always a joy to talk about the good old days, so to speak.”

On Bonvicini: “Coach B. is such a great person; great coach. She cares about you. That made me what to come play for her at UA and then I also liked her style of coaching. She’s more uptempo. She gives us free range to play on the court. So that was fun. She’s had a huge impact on my life. She’s there for you always; has your back if you ever needed anything. You could count on Coach B. It’s been a great friendship that we’ve developed over the years.”

Growing up at McKale Center: “It’s kind of crazy that most of my memories are in McKale Center as a child; as an adult. Going to all my grandfather’s games and cheering on all his teams throughout the years. We, our whole family would go. I’m talking aunts, uncles — we have a big family and that was something we always did. We were always going to the games and cheering him on. He did unbelievable things — it just became a basketball town once he came in and started winning ballgames. It’s just one of those things you look back and you’re like, ‘Wow!’ I was very fortunate to be a part of all that.

“The number of players that have come through his program and all the opponents that have come in. I’ve seen a lot of great basketball in McKale Center, and just the history. You still go to games today and see my grandfather’s name on the court and my grandmother’s name on the court. It always brings back memories. Then, to be able to play in McKale Center, as well. It was just one of those things, you don’t take it for granted. You embrace it.

“I just loved playing in McKale Center. It’s one of my favorite arenas to be in.”