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Adia Barnes as Arizona men's head coach? 'Absolutely not,' she says

NCAA Final Four Arizona UConn Basketball
Posted at 3:35 PM, Apr 07, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-07 18:44:24-04

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With the news of Sean Miller's departure from the head coaching position at the University of Arizona Wednesday, the obvious next question: Who's next?

After a thrilling run to the championship of the NCAA tournament just last week, one name at top of mind for Wildcat fans is women's head coach Adia Barnes. In just a few short years, Barnes took the women's program to new heights with a bright future ahead.

Hiring Barnes would certainly be out-of-the-box and nearly unprecedented. But would Barnes even consider taking the job?

"Absolutely not," Barnes said on the Johnjay and Rich podcast Wednesday.

CLIP: Adia Barnes on whether she'd coach UArizona men's team

Adia Barnes as Arizona men's head coach? "Absolutely not," she says

Barnes appeared on the podcast shortly after news broke of Miller's departure. The hosts asked whether she would take his job.

"Zero interest. Guys don't listen to crap, no," she joked as the hosts laughed. "You tell a guy to go right, he's going left, like, three times. No, they don't listen."

RELATED: Who's got next? Possible replacements for Sean Miller

Despite the jokes, Barnes did end with praise for Miller and reflected on their time together at UArizona.

"Coach Miller, I really liked him a lot," she said. "We were friends, we helped each other and I talked to him throughout the tournament. So, you know, I'm sad because you develop these friendships to great people, but it is a business and it's hard. And our business is really cutthroat."

When asked, Barnes didn't speculate as to who the university might hire to replace Miller.

Click here to listen to the full interview.