Editor鈥檚 note: This article is part of the Star鈥檚 2017-18 basketball guide, which runs in Sunday鈥檚 paper.
Recruiting comes down to relationships. If a player feels at home on campus and buys into the vision of the team 鈥 and more importantly, that of the coach 鈥 they are in.
Adia Barnes has this relationship thing down. And it shows.
Take a look at what she鈥檚 accomplished in the past 18 months, since she took over for Niya Butts as coach of the 蜜柚直播 Wildcats. Barnes has landed:
- One top European player who started as a freshman (Lucia Alonso).
- Three top-rated freshmen (Sammy Fatkin, Sam Thomas, and Kiana Barkhoff).
- Four transfers (Kat Wright, Aari McDonald, Dom McBryde, and Tee Tee Starks).
- A 2018 recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the nation, with a five-star player in Cate Reese.
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Barnes admits she was under the gun in the beginning and 鈥渟o late on so many kids,鈥 yet she has quickly caught up to the rest of the nation and definitely has momentum now.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no surprise Adia is having success,鈥 said WNBA star Sue Bird, who won a championship with Barnes as part of the Seattle Storm in 2004. 鈥淪he has a lot of passion for 蜜柚直播. You are not going to meet anyone more genuine than Adia. She makes you feel like a million bucks all the time.鈥
Whether it is the security crew at Key Arena when she was a player and broadcaster or the next recruit, that genuine caring comes through.
Just listen to what a few of her transfers say about why they selected 蜜柚直播.
鈥淚 felt a presence here that was missing all my life,鈥 McBryde said. 鈥淚 connected with coach right off the bat.鈥
鈥淩elationships are very important to me,鈥 McDonald said. 鈥淢y relationship with coach Adia and Coach (Morgan) Valley are strong.鈥
And here鈥檚 why her 2018 recruits want to come to UA:
鈥淚 knew from the beginning I wanted to play for her,鈥 Shalyse Smith said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 what you want as a coach. She cares about you as a person more than just a player.鈥
Added Bryce Nixon, another 2018 commit: 鈥淚鈥檝e never been more excited than to play for 蜜柚直播. I can鈥檛 wait to see what we can build here. I love the coaching staff 鈥 I believe in them and trust them.鈥
Barnes鈥 reputation on the recruiting trail is growing. 蜜柚直播 is battling Cal, Oklahoma, Oregon State and Texas A&M for players.
Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb said that she respects the job Barnes is doing in 蜜柚直播.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure the personality traits that made her successful on the court have also made her successful as a head coach,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not surprised at the early success she鈥檚 had. Adia did a terrific job at Washington and is a really great fit at 蜜柚直播. I know she鈥檚 the type of coach that players are drawn towards.鈥
How did Barnes get here?
鈥淎dia is a force of nature,鈥 said Mary Murphy, Pac-12 Networks women鈥檚 basketball analyst. 鈥淗er breadth of experience, as a player, as an assistant coach, as a head coach that has taken her all over the world and in the WNBA. She鈥檚 been so successful and she played at 蜜柚直播, loves the university and 蜜柚直播. She bought a house a half-mile from campus.
鈥淗er commitment is the fabric of who she is. She is not selling, she is sharing this to recruits and saying 鈥榳e picked you.鈥 It鈥檚 hard to say 鈥榥o鈥 to that.
鈥淎dia is so upbeat and energetic, along with the investment 蜜柚直播 has made in the basketball facilities鈥攏ot all schools have that 鈥攁nd she has a terrific staff. She is doing it the right way. And, she is extremely loyal; you see how reverently she talks about her coach Joan Bonvicini.鈥
Barnes will tell you that her philosophy was to go after the best kids on and off the court 鈥 players that wanted to be part of building the UA program.
That鈥檚 why you see the transfers: McDonald, from Washington, who made the Pac-12 All-Freshman team; McBryde, All-Big Ten honorable mention from Purdue; Starks from Iowa State; and Wright from Florida Atlantic.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge that we got top transfers,鈥 said Barnes. 鈥淭hey played significant minutes and have that championship mentality.鈥
Next is securing that 2018 class, as you can鈥檛 count them until you sign them. Barnes is looking at one or two more players for 2018 or might just wait until the 2019 class.
Barnes鈥 strategy is already shifting a bit. This 2018 class has a lot of post players, something 蜜柚直播 is missing on this season鈥檚 squad.
鈥淒epending on how we finish with that 2018 class, we鈥檒l look at our positional needs,鈥 said Barnes. 鈥淲e鈥檙e solid at point guard and guard. We might go for a specialist like a tall wing. We鈥檒l have to access our needs. There is always pressure. It鈥檚 just different now.鈥
Murphy said it might take a little while for UA to move up from being selected to finish 11th in the conference by the Pac-12 coaches. But, it will come soon enough.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very challenging to play catch-up in the Pac-12,鈥 said Murphy. 鈥淔ans need to be patient. But down the road, people will only be using her first name 鈥楢dia鈥, like they do with 鈥楾ara鈥 (VanDerveer from Stanford). She鈥檚 going to get there.鈥
And, Murphy added: 鈥淣o one takes the floor against one of Adia鈥檚 teams and thinks it鈥檚 an easy one.鈥
