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PAC-12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA DAYOctober 20, 2016Adia BarnesMalena JonesLaBrittney JonesSan Francisco, California ADIA BARNES: I'm extremely excited to be here. My first Pac-12 Media Day. I'm really excited to be back at Arizona. It's where everything started for me, so it's just an honor and pleasure to coach these young ladies every day. Q. Adia, can you just talk about the top things on your to do list for this program, the top things you think you need on do to put this program back into the competitive mix in this conference? ADIA BARNES: That's a pretty long list, but I think as a first-year head coach there are so many things you want to do. Everything's so fast. But the first thing definitely was culture, bringing in that championship mentality and culture. I'm a big person on take care of your team now. Yes, recruiting is very important, but I have a great group of young women, and I have six seniors that are really hungry for success. So it's my job to give them the best. So that's the first thing. Take care of the players. Then everything else falls into place, but recruiting has also been something that's big. Just changing the culture. It's hard as a student-athlete when you get recruited by a certain coach, there is a coaching change. I'm very sensitive to that and know that's a hard change. So they've been great the whole summer working really hard and doing everything I ask. I'm just really excited for this year. Q. Tell me about the transition from one seat over to the head coach, it's a really big difference. What have you noticed about the transition and how have you kind of gotten through that? ADIA BARNES: Well, people explained it like it's not going to slow down for another 12 months. And it's like, oh, great. You can describe it as drinking out of a firehose at first. Because you have to remember, we were in the Final Four at Washington, and then it just happened really fast. The difference is so many decisions you have to make on a daily basis. And it's not all about basketball. I think basketball is the easier part. Because knowing basketball, basketball's not rocket science. It's just the decisions from are we going to charter this time? Are we going to stay at this hotel? What uniform, what shoes, you know. Assigning different things. And I think as a first-year head coach not trying to do everything right away. My boss actually reminds me, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. So I have to keep that in perspective. Because as a competitor, and someone that's had a lot of success on different teams and organizations, it's hard not to want it right now. You want that immediate gratification. But just to take things and put things in perspective, one thing at a time. But to answer your question shortly, it's all of the decisions and the outside of basketball stuff. I think you want to do everything as a first-year head coach. You want to go to the speaking engagement. You want to go here, go there. But knowing that one thing at a time, and it's a process. Q. Adia, can you give us an inside look in your huddle based on the position players that you have? What is your style now that you're a head coach? Because we've only known you as an assistant coach. What kind of ball do you want to play? ADIA BARNES: As a player, a lot of it comes from my playing style. I was always pretty tough, I thought. I always played with a chip. I was a serious competitor. I want to be that blue-collar team. I want to play fast and play smart. We're definitely going to have a purpose, and our style's going to be identifiable. But play fast because I have great athletes that can get up and down the floor. But playing smart, being disciplined, and I like that chip. I honestly don't mind being the underdog. I don't mind where we were picked because I think it's fine. But I know what I'm here for. I know what we're going to do, and I know what we're capable of. You might see a little bit of elbows here and there. But that's okay. Q. Malena and Brittney, what were your impressions in the early practices of Adia, what is it like to play for her? MALENA WASHINGTON: Starting off practice, I think most importantly she wants us to go out there and play our hardest and play together, play as one, and just do what we can. Bring what we have to the table in order to be successful on the court. So speaking on that, it's just coming out every practice, starting in practice, starting in the weight room, playing hard, lifting each other up. We talk a lot about touches. So it's a collective goal that we have in mind, but it starts off individually when we're working out and we're training. LABRITTNEY JONES: What I can say so far is that coming in, coach has recognized that she wants to use what we have already, and just using our strengths to help us not point out our weaknesses. What we can do well when she's coming in to use what we already have. I just think like the thing we're focusing on a lot is the power of touch. Giving each other a high five, chest bumps, doing something good, even if we make a mistake, letting them know I've got my teammates backs. That's the biggest change for us. Q. Coach, being a Wildcat alum yourself, what would it mean to you, what does it mean to you to have the opportunity to bring Arizona back to where it once was on the national stage? ADIA BARNES: It means a tremendous amount. It's an honor. My former coach, who is sitting here in the stands, is even greater. It's just more special. I think when you're recruiting and you're selling it, it's where I chose, and it was for a reason. Let me tell you, it was nothing like it is today. The facilities and stuff, I'm kind of jealous, it's like wow, we didn't have that, and we didn't have those facilities. It's special. It's special inside, and I think it's an honor to be at your alma mater. And I think there also comes a little bit more pressure because we were a Top 10 team last year. But there is a little pressure, and I'm ready for the challenge. I can say it's really a special place. One of the things I noticed making the decision to go back there and be the head coach, I looked at how many people there were that were there when I was there. And that was really special. That meant a lot to me. Like Erika Barnes was a softball player when I was there. Their roles were different, but they were still there. So I knew that I had a lot of support. I have a great AD that really gets it. He gets what we need. He's a coach's AD. So all those things that made it really easy to make the decision to go back. It's just special. It's where I chose, and it's where it all started for me. So there is a lot of sentimental value there. Q. You added a former assistant to your staff in Kelly Rae Finley. Just wondering if you had a past working relationship with her, and what you feel like she can bring to the table as you build this program? ADIA BARNES: Kelly Finley is awesome. I had a list of people that I had in mind when I was going through the process and I was going to possibly have the job at Arizona. So I had a list, and she was one of the first people I went after. She's a tremendous recruiter. She's great on the floor. She's really smart. Her personality is amazing. If she was in this room, she'd win you all over in five seconds. That's just how she is. She's a great addition to the staff. For me, it was really about the people first. I knew her from different -- you're recruiting on the road, you meet people, and I watched her work. That was important to me because I had a lot of friends in the business. But when it came to hiring, I looked at people's work ethic and body language and the way they carried themselves, and I thought she fit all those things I wanted. And she's done a great job and she's great to have by my side. I'm really, really happy with the staff I put together. Q. What is going to be like -- this is your first year, what is going to be a successful season for you? What will that look like? ADIA BARNES: A successful season for us would be, I'm not necessarily looking at where exactly I want to finish, little things like that. It's getting the culture to where it needs to be, and it's building -- it's the start of it, the foundation. Just what's really important for me is these six seniors, I don't want any college athlete leaving their careers saying like I didn't have a great experience, my four years were awful. So it's really important for me, and I take pride in the fact that they'll leave feeling good about this season. This was awesome. We had a great year. We accomplished things. I think the wins and losses will take care of themselves. I think really feeling good about their season. And they set goals. They want to play in postseason. So we're going to shoot for that. Like I said, we don't mind being the underdogs. So it's one game at a time. One day at a time. One practice at a time. So we just keep working that way. Q. Malena and LB, what did you guys work on individually? Because as you both, I watched you over the last years in particular, you both had a green arrow up next to you as a stock. So I want to know what you did over the summer to improve your games and prepare yourselves for your senior season? LABRITTNEY JONES: For me, I know over the summer I worked a lot on my three-point shot. I kind of just started doing that at the end of the season last year, but I really wanted to bring that to the team this year because I actually have a decent shot. So working a lot on my three-point shot, and just getting physically stronger. Those are the main two things that I worked on this summer. MALENA WASHINGTON: For me, I worked in the weight room and I haven't always been at the highest point, so I've tried to work a lot with boosting up my weight, trying to go up in weight. And a lot mentally. I think I have to focus on having a louder voice when it comes to being a leader in practice on and off the court. So I think I'm working on being my voice, being vocal at all times. It's helpful when I have my teammates behind me and my coaches as well. Q. LaBrittney and Malena, I'm wondering, as seniors and having a new coach come in, I think that you probably had a lot of mixed feelings and emotions. I'm sure the team did as well. Did you have team meetings? Did you have to get players together to talk about here's the scenario? What do we want to do? And how did that play out as you knew Adia was coming in? LABRITTNEY JONES: At the end of the season we kind of knew that we were going to get a coaching change. As a team all together I just feel like we decided if we get a new coach in, let's do whatever they have. Let's be open to what they're going to bring in. And Coach came in and she's brought good things for us. We got closer as a team when she came in, actually. So our team chemistry has just made us way closer together. MALENA WASHINGTON: Going off what LaBrittney said, I think we all had an idea, and it really helped that she talked to us and told us that everything -- we have a clean slate and we have a chance to prove to her what we can do and what kind of person we can be. So from that meeting on, I think we've done nothing but progressed as a person and as a player. Q. Adia, you mentioned Joan here, and we know you from coaching with Mike as well. What did you learn from the coaches you played for, and the coaches you worked with that you brought to the program? ADIA BARNES: Gosh, I've learned so much from Coach B. Still call her Coach B. to this day. Just learned how just to push, to push your athletes. They can fall and get back up, but you push them to be their best. And she definitely did that for me. And Coach Neighbors has taught me so much. I don't know where to start. But to take one day at a time, relax, and keep everything in perspective and do your best. I mean, amongst a lot of other things. But, yeah, a list. So Coach Neighbors made 419 mistakes his first year. So I'm probably going to make 519. So it's a process, and it just takes time. He's someone that I call all the time to get advice from. He's been a great mentor, a great friend. And when I was thinking about this job, I talked to him obviously, and he definitely pushed me and supported me. Another person I call was Coach B., asking is this the right thing, is it the right fit? I don't think you ever know if you're completely ready, and I don't know if you're ever completely ready. So just having the confidence and having the people that support me and believe in me, it's been great. But definitely, we talk all the time, and he helps me. He's a great friend. I think one of the things he also did is he put me in situations -- I didn't understand this at the time, but he put me in situations that challenged me. Because at the time it was like, oh, gosh, I wasn't ready for that. But he did those things so I was uncomfortable. So when it came a time if I ever got this opportunity, that I would be more ready. And I really appreciate that. I see it now. I see it as my assistant coaches to prepare them, and I think that's valuable. His friendship has meant a lot for me. I also really appreciate, and he got the job, so I worked with Mike. Then he got the job as a head coach, so I have two different perspectives with him. When he was an assistant coach, he was one of my mentors. Then as a head coach, I was the first person he hired when he got the head coaching job. So he's a great friend. It was a hard decision leaving because I had a base there. I played for the Storm, a lot of things. But it was a great opportunity. He definitely helps me along the way. Like I stole it. If it works, I can steal it. It's like from stuff across the boards, like shooting boards and stuff. He's great at that. I always have the players perspective. I always thought like a player, but he's a really big numbers guy. So I stole some of that. Like using numbers to take the biases out, all of that stuff has helped to grow me a lot. He's also the one that said it's not going to slow down for another 12 to 14 months. That's funny, too. Because as an assistant, certain things he said, I didn't want to get into his assistant, but now I call him, and I'm like I know what you meant. So he's definitely a true friend. Q. What is an example of one of those situations where you had to work your deodorant, you were uncomfortable, but it made you ready for this position now? ADIA BARNES: Just a couple years ago just having to draw up something in practice last second. Or having to explain something to the team on the fly when you're not prepared -- or you're always prepared, but you're not expecting it. Just different things. There's a lot of things, different projects to do certain research. I used to have to do like some certain charting, but he let me understand. The reason those numbers were so important, and I realized later, you know, stuff like lineup deficiencies, as a player, I was on the feel for things. He's more take the numbers, take the biases out. And he'd have me play certain games like as an assistant, there's 40 minutes, throw out everybody's minutes, it's a lot harder than just saying this person should play this. So a lot of that stuff I really appreciated. It's made me think. He's challenged me a lot. There's a variety of things that have really helped me. So as a head coach now, I find out what my assistants' strengths and some of their weaknesses are and the areas they need to grow. So I'm going to make sure as I'm assigning their coaching responsibilities, I'm going to put them in situations where they're a little uncomfortable so they grow. I think that's my job. My job is to grow people around me, and that's what he did for me, so it's important. Q. Adia, I was wondering, obviously this conference is loaded. You've been talking about keeping your players upbeat. Do you anticipate it being a challenge at times as you grow to play in this kind of competition? ADIA BARNES: No doubt. This conference is a challenge. Day-in and day-out, it is hard. There is no game where you can expect to win. On any given night anybody can win. That's what's so great about the Pac-12. So that's exciting to me. Just being the underdog, I'm perfectly fine with that. In my whole career I've been the underdog. When I was told I couldn't go to Arizona and play, and then I was All American. Just every step I was told I couldn't play pro. Did it. I love being challenged and I love that. I don't mind that chip. I think there's just going to be challenges even as a first-year head coach in the Pac-12, all those things. But I think you take one day at a time. I know what I'm here to do, and it's starting now, and I'm excited about it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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