Adia Barnes announces addition of 4 to staff of Arizona women’s basketball

The announcement of hiring of Anthony Turner as the new assistant coach at Arizona was a bit of old news. Turner’s addition to the staff was widely reported early this month. That doesn’t mean that the announcement of four additions to the staff by head coach Adia Barnes didn’t have surprises.

The list of hires includes a full-time recruiting coordinator. That position was held by former Wildcat Aari McDonald last season, but she was splitting her time between Arizona and the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. The league extended its season beginning this year, keeping her away from Tucson for longer. When that was announced, Barnes said that they would have to see whether it still worked for both McDonald and Arizona. In April, the program flew McDonald out on some recruiting trips prior to training camp, but her professional season is now in full swing and she is no longer listed on the staff page. McDonald also spent the college season away from her husband, who stayed behind in Atlanta to work.

The new director of recruiting operations is Ryan Thorne, who moves into the position after spending four years as Arizona’s graphic designer and photographer. He is a 2023 graduate of Arizona.

One of the biggest surprises when Barnes hired Turner as her new assistant was that she hired another man. While Barnes’ husband Salvo Coppa has always been on her staff, all other assistants have been women.

Turner has extensive experience coaching basketball in the West. His latest position was a three-year stint as the associate head coach at Weber State, but he has also spent time at Utah Valley, New Mexico, Boise State, Oregon State, UNLV, and San Diego State.

Turner’s experience in the Pac-12 is especially significant. His first year with the Beavers coincided with the program’s first 20-win season in 20 years. During his two years in Corvallis, he was involved in recruiting two members of the Pac-12 All-Freshman team, one All-Pac-12 honoree, and one Pac-12 All-Defensive team player.

His coaching career began at Colorado, his alma mater, where he was a student assistant for two years. He graduated from CU in 2008.

Turner and Thorne are joined by new director of basketball operations Lauren Flaum. Flaum has extensive experience in NCAA women’s basketball. She arrives in Tucson from Tulane, where she held the DOBO position for the Green Wave for three years. Before that, she spent seven years in an administrative role for the Toledo Rockets. She was also a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan, where she graduated in 2009. Her position there was as a video coordinator, a role she fulfilled for from 2009-12. During that time, she completed her graduate degree at EMU.

Kyle Hutson steps in as Arizona’s video coordinator. He spent the last four years at Columbia, where he earned his graduate degree. The 2015 graduate of Arizona was a graduate assistant for the Lions for two years before moving into a full-time of video and analytics role in 2021.

Between the time he completed his undergraduate degree at UA and began his graduate work at Columbia, Hutson worked as a stat auditor for the NBA out of its office in New Jersey. He was also a video scout for baseball and football at Sports Info Solutions in Allentown, Penn.

Arizona will go into the season with one of its most experienced staffs since Barnes took over, something she pointed out after she moved Bett Shelby to an on-court assistant coach position.

The list of hires includes a full-time recruiting coordinator. That position was held by former Wildcat Aari McDonald last season, but she was splitting her time between Arizona and the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. The league extended its season beginning this year, keeping her away from Tucson for longer. When that was announced, Barnes said that they would have to see whether it still worked for both McDonald and Arizona. In April, the program flew McDonald out on some recruiting trips prior to training camp, but her professional season is now in full swing and she is no longer listed on the staff page.

The new director of recruiting operations is Ryan Thorne, who moves into the position after spending four years as Arizona’s graphic designer and photographer. He is a 2023 graduate of Arizona.

One of the biggest surprises when Barnes hired Turner as her new assistant was that she hired another man. While Barnes’ husband Salvo Coppa has always been on her staff, all other assistants have been women.

Turner has extensive experience coaching basketball in the West. His latest position was a three-year stint as the associate head coach at Weber State, but he has also spent time at Utah Valley, New Mexico, Boise State, Oregon State, UNLV, and San Diego State.

Turner’s experience in the Pac-12 is especially significant. His first year with the Beavers coincided with the program’s first 20-win season in 20 years. During his two years in Corvallis, he was involved in recruiting two members of the Pac-12 All-Freshman team, one All-Pac-12 honoree, and one Pac-12 All-Defensive team player.

His coaching career began at Colorado, his alma mater, where he was a student assistant for two years. He graduated from CU in 2008.

Turner and Thorne are joined by new director of basketball operations Lauren Flaum. Flaum has extensive experience in NCAA women’s basketball. She arrives in Tucson from Tulane, where she held the DOBO position for the Green Wave for three years. Before that, she spent seven years in an administrative role for the Toledo Rockets. She was also a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan, where she graduated in 2009. Her position there was as a video coordinator, a role she fulfilled for from 2009-12. During that time, she completed her graduate degree at EMU.

Kyle Hutson steps in as Arizona’s video coordinator. He spent the last four years at Columbia, where he earned his graduate degree. The 2015 graduate of Arizona was a graduate assistant for the Lions for two years before moving into a full-time of video and analytics role in 2021.

Between the time he completed his undergraduate degree at UA and began his graduate work at Columbia, Hutson worked as a stat auditor for the NBA out of its office in New Jersey. He was also a video scout for baseball and football at Sports Info Solutions in Allentown, Penn.

Arizona will go into the season with one of its most experienced staffs since Barnes took over, something she pointed out after she moved Bett Shelby to an on-court assistant coach position.