Four intriguing possibilities for the next Arizona female basketball coach

SMU announced the addition of Adia Barnes Like his new head coach early this afternoon. Shortly after, Arizona’s sports director in Reed-François’ desire, published her declaration.

“On behalf of the community of the Arizona University, I would like to thank Adia for its nine seasons as a chief coach and its deep impact on the women’s female basketball. She helped raise our program and created memories for life for our students athletes, coaches and fans. Strong.

The question is now who will be this new head coach.

There are clues about how Reed-François worked in Missouri and Arizona. She likes to hire people she has hired before.

The first Reed-François hiring made in Arizona was the swimming coach. She went to the UNLV to fill this.

In Missouri, she was responsible for hiring a new volleyball coach. She turned to UNLV and took success Dawn Sullivan. Sullivan continued his success with the Tigers.

However, his other hiring of coaching in Arizona suggests another possibility: young, inexperienced and relatively inexpensive. This is the path she took with the female golf course when Laura Ianello– Another former student of Wildcat who had not only challenged for a national title but won – also left Arizona for a job in the state of Texas.

It shouldn’t be a bad thing if it’s the right individual.

Greg byrne took a combination of these paths when he hired Barnes. She was a relatively new coach using a program that had fallen in bad times and had few fans. He paid very little. In fact, she was the less well paid women’s basketball coach in PAC-12 when she was hired. She always said that the money would be successful.

Barnes marketed community commitment before having managed to sell on the ground. She never refused to stop and talk to the fans. Its program often had the most hours of community service in the department during these first years. When success in the field only took place three years in her mandate, she already had a university city which was engaged with her and her program. The money did not come until she directed the program to her first Elite Eight, Final Four and National Championship match during her fifth season.

Barnes was a special case. As a decorated student, many older fans remembered her. She was able to sell the fact that she “chose Arizona twice”, as she said.

It would be a surprise to see Reed-François opt for a great conference coach with great success. These coaches are delivered with a price. Who could move the program in the right direction? What is the probability of wanting to come to Arizona?

Lindy La Rocque,, Head coach at UNLV

The Rocque follows the scheme of the consumption of the alcohol of the UNLV well. Reed-François also has an obvious affection for her. Arizona’s announcement presented an honor to the Rocque for its Amerindian inheritance when the UNLV played the Wildcats on November 12, 2024. It was one of the few open public appearances Reed-François with the women’s basketball team this season.

The Rocque is young but it is a very successful and accomplished chief coach. The 35 -year -old was appointed coach of the year Mountain West for the third time this season.

While the sequence of the rebels of the NCAA tournament offers was broken this year when they lost in the semi-finals of the Mountain West tournament, it has always led her team to the qualifying series with a WBIT place. Unlv fell into Florida in the second round.

It was the fourth consecutive offer of the Rocque in the playoffs. The previous three were in the NCAA tournament, although the rebels have not yet won a match in the big dance under its tutelage.

She may be from Las Vegas, but she also has tucson ties. His family was very close to the legendary male chief coach Lute Olson. When the Lady Rebels came to the McKale Center for the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in 2023, she said that when people tried to tell her how to move to the twisted corridors of the arena, she told them that she already knew.

In addition to Olson, the Rocque has links with another legendary head coach. She played for Tara Vanderveer At Stanford from 2008 to 22. She also led to the former Cardinal leader for a season before getting the concert in Vegas.

The Rocque said that it remained at the UNLV, but it would be careless to leave it from the list in case Reed-Francios could work on magic.

Kamie Ethridge, head coach of Washington State

Kamie Ethridge has always been able to get more and less. She raised the cougars to some of the highest points in the history of the program before the disappearance of the CAP-12 has everything crashed around it.

Ethridge did not, however, plain it. She is used to having to take commercial flights despite a distant region. She is used to finding diamonds in rudurs and developing them. She travels the globe in search of players, then shapes them as a team. Earlier this year, she said she didn’t have time to complain about how unfair things or to look at what others have.

She also had to face a lot of injustice. While female athletes and coaches should not have to smile and bear it, Ethridge has proven that she could if she owes it – and she always has the same goals even after losing her players and they lost their conference.

As an older Kansas State coach, she also has some experience with Big 12.

As a person, Ethridge is earth-to-earth and open. She is from Lubbock, Texas, so Tucson would be much closer to his home. However, the common perception has long since ended in her country of origin.

Xavier Lopez, head coach associated with TCU

Xavier Lopez was by Mark CampbellThe side is the chick coach of the horns in horns when they were doing their historical reversal this season. Lopez has been with Campbell for some time, first at Oregon and then Sacramento State. He has just completed his second season at Fort Worth.

He led to some of the best offensive coaches in the match. Both Kelly Graves In Oregon and Campbell in TCU, place a bonus on the score. It could be something that excites the base of fans, many of which were frustrated by the defensive style of Barnes. The Arizona will have to find a way to keep this base, most of which do not regularly assist in matches before returning to Tucson.

Like some of the other successful assistants on this list, he is currently in a school that has resources to get players. Could he succeed in Arizona if he did not have this level of support? Would he want to try?

Tari Cummings-Baker, associate coach and recruitment coordinator in Baylor

Tari Cummings-Baker was on Nicki Collenfour -year staff. She also spent time in Cincinnati and Houston, so she has experience with several current Big 12 schools. She was also assistant coach and recruitment coordinator at Arkansas. She spent six years there, demonstrating a desire to stay there.

Arizona needs someone who has an overview of recruitment, and Cummings-Baker succeeded in this arena in Baylor. She helped Collen in ink the recruitment class n ° 9 in 2021. The question is whether these skills will result if the Wildcats do not have the financial resources to compete in the zero / share of today’s income.

Cummings-Baker was head coach at Division II level, although it was a short passage that ended with a loser record. In 2021, Athletics noted That her experience there has shown that she was able to operate with fewer resources. However, after her time in Baylor, would she want to go back?