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Arizona Basketball: Women’s program needs new direction

By Shereen Rayan

Sep 7, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Mercury assistant coach Julie Hairgrove (left), head coach Sandy Brondello (center) and assistant coach Todd Troxel on the bench against the Chicago Sky during game one of the WNBA Finals at US Airways Center. The Mercury defeated the Sky 83-62. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Mercury assistant coach Julie Hairgrove (left), head coach Sandy Brondello (center) and assistant coach Todd Troxel on the bench against the Chicago Sky during game one of the WNBA Finals at US Airways Center. The Mercury defeated the Sky 83-62. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Arizona is a basketball school, yet the Arizona basketball program on the women’s side has stagnated in recent years; it’s time for a coaching change.

Arizona Men’s Basketball has been a powerhouse program for decades, currently ranked No. 9 in the country. McKale Center recently ranked one of the 20 top arenas with the best home court advantage by our Fansided sister site Busting Brackets. So why don’t we talk about Arizona Women’s basketball?

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The women’s team is a very young team this season; they are only graduating one senior, Keyahndra Cannon. Next year there will be six seniors graduating, which means this offseason, there has to be some major recruiting going on!

For whatever reason, the Arizona women’s team has not turned their situation around and has ended up ranked at the bottom of the Pac-12 for years with lopsided losing records (10-63 Pac-12 last four seasons).

Cats Record for the last four seasons:

  • 2013 (13-18, 4-15 Pac-12)
  • 2014 (6-25,   1-18 Pac-12)
  • 2015 (11-20,  3-16 Pac-12)
  • 2016 (11-17,   2-14 Pac-12 with two regular-season games to go)

Giving interviews after each loss has to be painful for all involved including the media. No one wants to feel this way. Maybe the Athletic Director has to hire a new head coach for a fresh start, a reboot of sorts. It cannot be fun for him either. It’s a hard situation to stomach and even harder to rectify, but an attempt should be made in our opinion.

Sometimes all you need is a little change, a road map to success and a way to carry out the plan.

Aug 26, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; President Barack Obama shakes hands with Phoenix Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello (left) at a ceremony honoring the 2014 WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury in the East Room at the White House. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 26, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; President Barack Obama shakes hands with Phoenix Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello (left) at a ceremony honoring the 2014 WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury in the East Room at the White House. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Who could Greg Byrne hire to try to breathe some life into the program?

We have the perfect candidate, former Arizona Wildcat and current 10-year Phoenix Mercury top assistant coach Julie Hairgrove!

Does the name sound familiar? It should, Julie is the granddaughter of NCAA Hall of Famer and former University of Arizona coach Lute Olson and Bobbi Olson. Their names are inscribed on the court in McKale if you are still confused. A 5-10 guard, Julie Brase (maiden name) played for the Arizona women’s basketball program for four years (1998-2002) including earning team captain honors. One of the best shooters on the team, she was known for her 3-point shot and playing as a coach on the floor.

Hairgrove’s qualifications and connections are hard to match. After graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral sciences in communication and a minor in business, she was hired as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lady Lions. She was part of the LMU coaching staff when her team won the WCC championship under head coach Julie Wilhoit giving them an NCAA berth. It would be the only time LMU has participated in the NCAA tourney in the last 25 years, give or take.

More impressively, Hairgrove has been coaching for the same professional basketball team since 2005. Last season, her Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello entrusted her with the team while she completed her coaching stint with the international team UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League.

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In the last ten years, Hairgrove has visited the White House three times with three different head coaches winning the WNBA championship in 2007 under Paul Westhead, 2009 under head coach Cory Gaines, and in 2014 under coach Brandello. She has coached some of the best WNBA players in the league, like Brittany Griner and Diana Taurasi, and her players adore her.

Julie has coached 42 playoff games in Talking Stick Resort Arena of the 51 total franchise playoff games. Most recently, she coached the 2015 WNBA All-star team along with her head coach. The team made the playoffs last season, losing in the semifinals two games to zero against the Minnesota Linx. So close to possibly competing for a fourth trophy, even without Taurasi, who sat out the season because her international team paid for her to sit out.

Hairgrove is local; she moved to Tucson when she was four years old and grew up there where she attended Foothills High School. In 1997 she won the girls basketball state championship, the first of many to come. Julie was a part of her grandfathers program where she grew up with the likes of Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Mike Bibby and every other star you can imagine. She married her college sweetheart, a fellow Arizona athlete, and started a family. They live in Tucson, and during the summer season, Hairgrove moves to Phoenix to coach the Mercury to hopefully another championship.

Hairgrove would be a big draw for athletes to commit to Arizona, especially if they dream to play in the WNBA. She would be able to groom them, and educate them on what skills are necessary to make it into the pros. She has gained a ton of knowledge from all the coaches who mentored her in along her career path.

With her college and professional coaching experience, her contacts throughout the WNBA, passion for Arizona Wildcats basketball, history growing up in McKale, and the fact that she is great at her job, Julie Hairgrove would be a perfect candidate. She can relate well to the players and has an infectious personality.

On top of the experience she gained, Julie also has her granddad and her brother to confer with when she needs advice, along with Men’s coach Sean Miller, who opens his practices to Hairgrove when she wants to attend.

Hargrove’s brother Matt Brase is the current RGV Vipers (Houston Rockets D-League team) head coach. Coaching runs in the Olson bloodline; it is clear, so next year, let’s hope the Athletic Department looks no further than McKale Center where Julie Hairgrove’s picture is hanging in the Hall of Fame.

Arizona is ready for Hairgrove, and after ten years coaching in the WNBA, Hairgrove is prepared to coach her own team for her alma mater and raise the bar for Arizona Women’s basketball. Arizona should strongly consider offering her the head coaching job.

More wildcats: Lute Olson’s Legacy Lives on in His Grandchildren

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