Adia Barnes

Adia Oshun Barnes (born February 3, 1977) is the head women's basketball coach with the University of Arizona. She played at the collegiate level for the University of Arizona, then seven seasons of professional women's basketball with the Houston Comets, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Sacramento Monarchs in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She has played internationally with Dynamo Kiev in the Ukraine. She serves as a TV color analyst broadcasting WNBA Seattle Storm games. Barnes is married to Salvo Coppa, a basketball coach she met in Italy. The wedding date was July 4, 2012.

Barnes grew up in San Diego, California and attended Mission Bay Senior High School in San Diego. Over the course of her high school career, she amassed 1112 blocks, the most ever recorded by a female high school basketball player, 253 blocks ahead of second place Chris Enger.

At 5'11", Barnes isn't as tall as most post position players vying for a position at the highly regarded Division I schools. The University of Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini didn't think she would be able to play at that position, even after watching film of her play. However, after seeing her in person, she immediately offered Barnes a scholarship, who enrolled in the school for the 1995 season. Her physical play earned her a comparison to Charles Barkley from a Sports Illustrated writer. In her freshman year she earned the Pac-10 freshman of the year award, the first player from Arizona to win such an award.

In her sophomore year, the team earned a WNIT bid and won the championship. Barnes was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. As a junior, Barnes helped the team to their first ever NCAA appearance. They won their first game against Western Kentucky, and then lost by six points to the second seed in their bracket, Georgia. She went on to set 22 individual records for the Arizona Wildcats, including career points and rebounds, many of which are still records. She would go on to become the first women's player in Arizona to be drafted into the professional leagues.

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