The first thing you notice about Jackie Nared and Tamisha Augustin is how quickly they connect with people.
Nared shared that she had a home inspection on Thursday afternoon on a house she is ready to buy in Tucson.
鈥淚鈥檝e moved a lot in the last couple of years and I鈥檓 probably a little too used to it. Arizona is somewhere I want to be for a while. I am hoping to settle and stay put here with Adia (Barnes).鈥
Augustin shared how she ruptured her Achilles tendon in December 2016 when she was an assistant coach at Minnesota.
鈥淚t happened because I thought I still had the juice in practice,鈥 Augustin said. 鈥淲e had 10 minutes left to practice at Ohio State and I got an outlet (pass), rip, took a dribble, it popped. I turned around and thought one of the girls had hit me in the back of the leg with the ball. I was like, 鈥榃ho kicked me in the leg?鈥 And everybody knew I ruptured my Achilles. ... Shocking to me. I was like, 鈥業 am too old for this, why?鈥 鈥 I鈥檓 back out playing and running around, so it鈥檚 totally fine.鈥
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A few minutes after meeting each of them, you feel like you鈥檝e known them your entire life. And that鈥檚 a perfect fit for Barnes鈥 program.
鈥淭hey are good relationship people and I like that,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an important part of our success 鈥 to embrace the community 鈥 and I needed people who could do that. They have good people skills and that鈥檚 very important.鈥
Those skills have been tested fairly quickly. In the first few weeks, the new coaches have started offseason practice, had official visits and have been on the phone courting prospects. This weekend, they hit the road to evaluate recruits. Three cities in three days.
In a word, it鈥檚 been crazy.
Nared is still living out of a bag and while Augustin鈥檚 car was delivered Thursday morning, her furniture doesn鈥檛 arrive until later this week.
That鈥檚 life as an assistant coach, and both have experienced this sprint before.
Nared went from playing college hoops at Saint Mary鈥檚 to working on Washington coach Mike Neighbors鈥 staff as the director of player development for two seasons, while Barnes was a UW assistant. Nared played professionally in Switzerland and Belgium for two seasons and worked at Oregon and Washington State.
Barnes said that Nared has 鈥渁 great basketball mind and a good eye for the game.鈥
Nared comes from a basketball family. Her dad, Greg, played at Maryland, coached at UW and is now in the Dallas Mavericks鈥 front office. Her sister, Jamie, is in her second season in the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces and played college ball at Tennessee.
The Nared sisters learned long ago not to play against each other since they鈥檇 end up fighting out of competitive nature. But that doesn鈥檛 stop them from spending time together in the gym.
鈥淲e鈥檙e gym rats; we love the game,鈥 said Nared. 鈥淢y dad and Jamie visited me at Washington State and I had broken my right hand 鈥 my shooting hand 鈥 and we were still in the gym. I was shooting with my left hand.
鈥淲e rebound for Jamie and when we finish up we play H-O-R-S-E, and dad and I take shots on our own trying to be like we are really shooters.鈥
Nared has another younger sister, Eboni, 12, nicknamed 鈥楶uny,鈥 who also plays basketball.
Outside of her family, Nared looks to Barnes and Oregon鈥檚 Kelly Graves as her mentors.
鈥淚鈥檝e had great people in my corner who have taught and helped me grow as a person and a coach. I am very blessed,鈥 said Nared. 鈥淜elly showed me that being a good person means more than anything. People can feel your energy if you are a good person.
鈥淎dia is always my go-to when I seek advice. Adia has a great aura about her. She is relatable and played the game. She鈥檚 done what a lot of people want to do and strive for, and she鈥檚 still young. I look up to her. She has accomplished a lot in such a short period of time. She鈥檚 an easy person to learn from. ... She is an awesome role model for these young women. Whatever Adia puts her mind to, she鈥檚 going to do. It shows in her success in everything she鈥檚 done.鈥
Augustin always thought she was going to be a dentist; she calls herself a science nerd. She earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology and with a fifth year of playing basketball, due to an injury, she earned a masters in microbiology at Alabama A&M. But then basketball took her overseas and when her career ended, she turned to coaching.
Her stops included Marshall, VCU, UCF, Minnesota and Cincinnati. Augustin鈥檚 list of mentors include Boo Williams, Dawn Staley, Jamelle Elliot, and Joy Williams.
鈥淓ach team I coached has been so different and from when I started to now 鈥 just in how these young adults process and how you have to teach them,鈥 said Augustin. 鈥淪ome are oral learners and some are visual, but now mental health awareness is a big thing. And a lot of young adults struggle with adversity.
鈥淲hat used to be so easy to us is the biggest thing to them. I think from each of them, learning how to actually relate to players and how to address adversity and get coping skills. To get the best out of the players. I think each team has brought me something different: leadership, discipline and having great values in the community.鈥
Cincinnati fired its entire coaching staff after a 19-13 season in 2017-18. It was a shock to everyone after a winning season.
鈥淲e had no clue 鈥 most unheard of thing, but it was a blessing in disguise,鈥 said Augustin. 鈥淚t gave me an opportunity 鈥 a good time to take a break and visit what is important, which is family. ... It gave me a chance to travel at odd times of the year that I never do in January and December. I actually spent Christmas and Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in 15 years. It was refreshing. And now I am fired up. I am fired up. I am fired up.鈥
Augustin really wasn鈥檛 away during her year away from coaching. She started a company 鈥 Goalden Solutions Inc. 鈥 and ran skill development clinics for boys and girls and educated their parents on the recruitment process.
鈥淚 like that I am giving her an opportunity. She鈥檚 hungry to get back to it,鈥 said Barnes. 鈥淪he is a good coach and a good recruiter. Since being on board she is so detailed. I love it. It鈥檚 the little things that are important to me. I knew she was aligned with me.鈥
She is aligned with Barnes in many ways including work ethic, community and passion.
Augustin calls herself a 鈥渂lue collar, hard worker.鈥 She wants the fans to know that she 鈥渋s passionate about this university and the opportunities that are ahead for us and, more importantly, our student-athletes. I want them to be the best people they can be when they leave here.鈥
鈥淯ltimately you want your community to support your program. And you do that by getting out there yourself showing, 鈥楬ey, I support you guys and we want you guys to come and support us.鈥
鈥淎dia has done a great job with that. It helps so much that she played here. Even when we talk about prospects, she鈥檚 done it. She鈥檚 done it here. And now she鈥檚 re-writing that story by getting other young adults and giving them an opportunity to do the same. So I鈥檓 very big on that.鈥
Nared and Augustin both said 鈥榶es鈥 to joining Barnes鈥 program right away.
鈥淥nce I got to campus it was a no-brainer 鈥 coming here was easy,鈥 said Nared. 鈥淚 love Adia and it鈥檚 nice working with someone you know and trust. So that was huge. Basketball-wise they just won the WNIT championship and have the same group coming back. We are going to continue to grow and rise. And the girls are phenomenal.鈥
Added Augustin: 鈥淲hat attracted me here was Adia. She did some really exciting things this year. I expected her to do those things because I know the drive that she has. It鈥檚 important for me that when I decided to transition to Arizona that you want to work for somebody who matches your passion and your goals and your values. ... It didn鈥檛 take long for me to decide, because we knew each other. It was an exciting time.鈥
More awards
UA standout LaBrittney Jones, who won the Patrick Baumann Swiss Cup championship with Switzerland’s BC Winterthur, took second place in the Swiss SBL. Her team fell to the same opponent, Elfic, that it beat to capture the Swiss Cup. named Jones All-Swiss SBL first team as forward of the year.
Summer camp
The Adia Barnes Basketball Academy at McKale Center helps girls, grades 2-12, develop skills and get tips from Barnes, her staff and players from the WNIT championship team. The day camp is June 3-6 for grades 2-8. Team camp is June 8-9. The elite camp for girls in grades 9-12 is Aug. 3. For more information, contact Bri Felix at 520-621-4014, or email adiabarnesacademy@gmail.com.
