New Arizona State women's basketball coach Natasha Adair talks challenges during Pac-12 Media Day
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Natasha Adair has her work cut out for her. She stepped in for a legend in Charli Turner Thorne, who had headed the Arizona State women's basketball program for a quarter century. She moved from the East Coast, which can prove overwhelming in itself.
It didn't help that she was confronted with major turnover on her roster.
Oh, and there is the widely known fact that Pac-12 women's basketball is the top conference in the country.
Adair was in San Francisco as part of Pac-12 Media Day Tuesday, bringing with her players Jaddan Simmons and Sydney Erikstrup.
Adair talked about taking over for Turner Thorne, but she isn't intimidated by the challenge, having done the same at two other stops where she took over for veteran coaches.
"You have to be confident in you," said Adair, the lone new coach in the conference this season. "This is not the first time for me in this position, but just understanding when you come in you want to put your stamp on something and it is the Adair era but you don't forget the past. You don't dismiss what has been done and you build on that. You talk about the history and want to build on that. You aspire to reach that and go beyond. You understand where you are and the community and then you recruit to your style."
Adair came to ASU after five years at Delaware, where her teams were a combined 95-58, highlighted by back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Much like Turner Thorne, Adair stresses hard-nosed defense but she says her teams will not exactly take the air out of the ball either. They're going to get up and down the floor and her players joked about the drills they run to prepare them for that style of play.
"My trademark is building leaders and empowering them. That is me and every place I have gone," Adair said. "They have to win holistically before they can win on the court. For us, we're going to run, defend, rebound and score. They way we're going to play may be a little different. We're going to play both sides of the ball. We want our players to be the most prepared, the most competitive, relentless in their pursuit of a Pac 12 championship."
The Sun Devils will have a new look, not only because of the coaching change. Simmons is the only player of the team's top eight that is still in the fold, with some graduating and several transferring, a couple to in-conference rivals.
Adair said turnover comes with any coaching change and even more so now with the transfer portal. She met with each player individually upon her arrival to find out their "why" and what they wanted to achieve. Team bonding junkets have included a trip to a pumpkin patch as well as an escape room.
While some players opted out before giving Adair a chance, the remaining players say they are excited about playing for Adair.
"I liked her energy and everything she had to say," Erikstrup said. "She's all about family and I appreciate that. Some people left but I really felt like this was the best place for me. I wanted to stay here and be part of her vision."
Barnes gets ceremonial nod
When Adia Barnes took over the Arizona women's program six years ago the Wildcats were struggling. She recalled her early games when the crowd would consist of a few hundred fans. Fast forward to now, where the program is one of few nationwide that can sell out a women's game.
The Wildcats made a historic run to the NCAA championship game in 2020, where they lost a thriller to conference rival Stanford.
Barnes' popularity was evident in her selection as grand marshal of the Tucson Rodeo parade.
She was accompanied to Media Day by Shaina Pellington and Helena Pueyo.
"I had the boots, I had the hat. I had it all. I knew it was a big deal. I didn't know it was THAT big a deal. I was like a true cowgirl," Barnes laughed.
Stanford picked first
The preseason conference poll was released and it was no surprise as Stanford received 11 of 12 first place votes with Utah getting the other. The Cardinal tallied 121 points while second-place Oregon had 101. Arizona was third with 100. UCLA (91) and Utah (84) rounded out the top five.
Arizona State was picked last receiving just 18 points, three fewer than 11th place California.
"We're out to prove people wrong," ASU's Simmons said. "We're working hard and improving every day and we can't wait to get out there and compete."
Odds and ends
• A 5.0 earthquake hit near San Jose shortly before noon when UCLA coach Cori Close and her players were on stage addressing the media. A reporter asking a question had mentioned the earthquake, although the coach, her players and most in the room hadn't noticed it.
Then came the regularly scheduled lunch break. Former UConn standout Rebecca Lobo, who does television commentary, expressed some concern about getting in the elevator and going to the roof where lunch was served.
• Washington basketball players Lauren Schwartz and Haley Van Dyke were among the first to arrive at the conference headquarters, The duo spent several minutes in the main stage area before the media and other teams arrived, making Tik Tok videos.
• USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb was not on hand, replaced by associate head coach Beth Burns who was accompanied by players Rayah Marshall and Kadi Sissoko. Gottlieb just had a baby girl 12 days ago. Burns called herself the "gatekeeper" while Gottlieb is away although she says eh head coach is still "very involved."
Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783. Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Arizona State coach Natasha Adair addresses new challenges ahead at Pac-12 Media D
