Always Doubted, Adia Barnes’ vision comes to fruition as Cats reach Final Four

From being an embarrassed alum as she watched Arizona Women’s Basketball fall to the depths of the Pac-12 to now reaching the Final Four, Adia Barnes has led Arizona to heights never been achieved before.

It’s funny how life can turn out and destiny can manifest itself out of the blue, and that’s what has happened to Arizona Women’s Basketball Head Coach, soon to be Legend, Adia Barnes.

While Barnes finished her illustrious career with the Wildcats in 1998 by reaching the Sweet 16, Barnes proceeded to become a WNBA Champion in her seven-year WNBA career in 2004 as a member of the Seattle Storm in her final season stateside before continuing on her basketball overseas, before finishing her career in 2010.

Arizona Wildcats

In 2011, Barnes turned to coaching, becoming an assistant for Pac-12 foe Washington where she spent five seasons before destiny started to show itself.

Then one of the top assistants in college basketball, Adia got a call from her alma mater to return home to take over an Arizona Wildcats Program that was in desperate need of revitalization.

Hoping to return Arizona Women’s Basketball to their former glory, the challenge hasn’t been easy for head coach Adia Barnes.

In her first season in Tucson, the Wildcats finished in ninth place in the Pac-12. Then came a legendary transfer in the form of Aari McDonald who chose to follow Barnes from Washington to Arizona.

Aari had to sit out the 2017-18 season due to transfer, but then a top-flight recruit chose to break the mold in Sam Thomas, and suddenly there was a sense that there was something building in Tucson.

A 6-24 season in 2017-18 saw the Wildcats take a step back, threatening the momentum that was building within the Women’s Basketball program.

However, Barnes then did the unthinkable, heading deep into the heart of Texas, securing another top-flight recruit in Cate Reese, beating out Baylor amongst many other blue blood programs in signing her, beginning to assemble a special core.

Coming off of a very rough season and more questions arising whether if the Women’s team could ever get back to the levels seen when Barnes was starring for the Wildcats, a switch was then flipped.

The 2018-2019 season was quite the improvement as the Wildcats moved up to 8th in the Pac-12, finishing 24-13 on the year, capturing a WNIT Championship in the first season that saw McDonald, Reese, and Thomas all play together.

Signs were even showing what could be a special program at Arizona.

The Wildcats then followed up the WNIT Championship season with another 24-win season before the Coronavirus threw a wrench in the plans of a sure-fire NCAA Tournament bound season.

There even be plenty of promise coming into 2020-21, especially if Aari would come back. As you may recall, Aari was projected to go Top 10 in the 2020 WNBA Draft.

Surprisingly, Aari would announce her return, and suddenly there was a real possibility that this team could go deep into the NCAA Tournament. But how deep into the tournament could they go?

In a season unlike any other, the Wildcats had to overcome several cancellations, postponements, etc. finishing 2nd in the Pac-12, and proceeding to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed.

After knocking off the best the American East offered up in Stony Brook, the Wildcats moved on to the Round of 32 where they faced a scare, outlasting a pesky 11-seed BYU team, setting up a Texas-sized Showdown in the Sweet 16 against No. 2-seeded Texas A&M.

Arizona’s Sweet 16 matchup will likely go down as one of the schools’ best game, as the Wildcats were dominant, hitting 13 three-pointers en route to a 74-59 win over Texas A&M sending them to their deepest run in school history by making the Elite 8.

All that then remained between Arizona and their first-ever Final Four appearance was a matchup with the Indiana Hoosiers. Despite being the higher seed, the Wildcats found themselves doubted by many yet again, as virtually everyone outside of Arizona had Indiana favored.

In what was a close battle throughout, it was ultimately the Wildcats who pulled out a tense, 66-53 win sending the Wildcats to their first-ever Final Four.

As Arizona Wildcats fans, we cannot thank Adia Barnes and all these amazing women enough for all the pride they have allowed us to feel during this incredible run. Bear Down, Arizona, and let’s keep dancing!