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Barnes’ coaches were mostly from small schools such as Boise State, LMU, Washington State and Weber State. Barnes did not hire an ex-Wildcat over those nine seasons.

Other than Coppa, none of Barnes’ assistants stayed in Tucson more than two seasons. Many have gone on to what appear to be better jobs. April Phillips is the head coach at San Jose State, Morgan Valley is an assistant at mighty UConn and Kelly Rae Finley is the head coach at Florida.

With Coppa the No. 1 assistant, there was no room for advancement on the Arizona staff, thus the unusually high turnover, which couldn’t have been good for team continuity or recruiting consistency.

It must have been challenging for UA players to adjust to new assistants so often, or to establish recruiting touches.

That’s why it was impressive last week when new Arizona coach Becky Burke hired Tucsonan Julie Hairgrove. The state high school MVP in 1997 at Catalina Foothills, the former Julie Brase played at Arizona from 1998-2003 before coaching two years at Loyola Marymount and then the WNBA.

Hairgrove spent 18 years coaching the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA, helping the Mercury win league championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014. That’s like Chip Hale hiring a pitching coach from the Chicago Cubs, or Brent Brennan adding a quarterback coach from the Denver Broncos. It’s a significant recruiting tool and beyond.

And it’s not like Hairgrove is in the homestretch of her career. She’s in her prime at 45.

Having a WNBA pedigree will not only boost Arizona’s teaching and X&O ability, it will appeal to recruits. What other Big 12 coach can tell a recruit “I spent 18 years coaching Diana Taurasi�?

None.

I examined last year’s 48 Big 12 women’s basketball assistant coaches and discovered that just one other coach, Texas Tech’s Plenette Pierson, coached in the WNBA. She spent three years with the Minnesota Lynx.

Big advantage, Becky Burke and Arizona.

Last season, the only Big 12 coaching staffs that included an alumnus of that school were Texas Tech’s Pierson and Colorado’s Bianca Smith.

Hairgrove can not only sell the WNBA, she can sell Wildcat blood, which includes her grandfather, Lute Olson. Again, advantage, Arizona. You would think most Big 12 schools would understand how important it is to sell the school’s history.

“Julie had a magical ride as a player and coach,� said Jim Rosborough, a UA men’s assistant coach from 1990-2000, who has known the Brase family for 40 years. “She has been very successful at each stop. What is so great is that all of this success hasn’t affected her ego. She is a terrific hire for this program.�

New Arizona State coach Molly Miller mirrored Arizona’s hiring of Hairgrove by acquiring 1980s ex-Sun Devil Stephanie Norman, a 14-year assistant at Louisville, where, believe it or not, she recruited and coached Burke, Arizona’s new head coach, from 2008-12.

One person who deserves credit for the quick reconstruction of Arizona’s women’s basketball staff is athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois. She was prepared for a change and it shows.

While saving about $600,000 in salary from the $1.3 million Barnes was due to make next season, Reed-Francois was able to hire a general manager, Michelle Marciniak, who will be able to concentrate on all of the things Barnes had to split among coaching time: player acquisition, NIL, revenue sharing, contract negotiations, culture, leadership and branding.

What’s more, Marciniak is not just a run-of-the-mill GM. She played for two Tennessee NCAA championship teams, played six years in the WNBA and was an assistant coach at mighty South Carolina. Marciniak is also an entrepreneur; co-founder of SHEEX, a performance bedding company, which she led for 17 years as co-CEO.

She should have no difficulty selling Arizona women’s basketball.

In the two weeks since Barnes left for SMU, Arizona has upgraded its coaching staff, been successful in the transfer portal (with six new players) and hired not just one of the top names in Tucson women’s basketball history, but a potential game-changing GM with a national championship background.

Believe it or not, there is just one other GM in Big 12 women’s hoops; Iowa State hired the coach’s son, Billy Fennelly, to be the Cyclones’ GM.

All of the other schools have a traditional director of operations or chief of staff. Arizona’s additions of Hairgrove and Marciniak have given Arizona an advantage it couldn’t have imagined while getting swept by NAU this season.