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👋 GOOD MORNING
Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. I’ll get to the Sun Devils’ coaching change in a moment — there was no shortage of headlines to choose from this Monday morning — but one thing I don’t want to get lost in the shuffle is a white out at Mullett Arena on Friday! If you’re going through withdrawal following the Coyotes’ departure, get out to The Mullett this weekend! More details below the main story, but I sure hope to see you there. The Sun Devils deserve your support — it has been an incredible season.
On to the show!
Sun Devils Fire Natasha Adair After Three Seasons
The ASU women’s basketball team is looking for a new head coach.
Athletic Director Graham Rossini released a statement Saturday indicating the university is moving on from coach Natasha Adair after three seasons. ASU struggled mightily down the stretch this season, losing 14 of its final 15 regular season games, and that included a 12-game losing streak from Jan. 8 – Feb. 19. The Sun Devils finished 10-22 under Adair in 2024-25, who completed her tenure with a 29-62 record over three seasons.
Search For New Coach Will “Begin Immediately”
Rossini indicated in the statement that the Sun Devils will waste no time in beginning the search for a new coach, though it may understandably start off slow given that some of the top candidates are still game-planning for the postseason. Even so, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from swirling, and here are three names that seem to be at the top of nearly everyone’s list:
- Nikki Blue, Assistant Coach, Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) – Blue has strong ties to the desert, having served as an assistant coach at Arizona State, but has also been an assistant coach in the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks, offering a solid recruiting tool considering her ties to the pro ranks.
- Briann January, Assistant Coach, Motor City Cruise (G-League) – January has a prolific reputation in Tempe, having been part of two Elite 8 squads during her playing days with the Sun Devils. She played for 14 years in the WNBA, was an assistant coach at Arizona State, and also worked for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.
- Molly Miller, Head Coach, Grand Canyon University – Keeping it local yet again, though this may be the hardest of the bunch to land. She began her coaching career at Drury before taking over at GCU in 2020. In stark contrast to the Sun Devils’ season, the Lopes are 29-2, and are in the midst of a 27-game winning streak. Yeah, she’ll be in high demand this offseason.
My take: Regime changes are always hard, but college athletics in this day and age command positive results on a relatively short timeframe. Adair was never able to turn the corner with the Sun Devils, but she deserves to be commended considering the transition she oversaw: First, the departure of Charli Turner — the winningest coach in ASU history who spent 25 years as head coach before retiring in March 2022 — and then a transition to the Big 12 after the Pac-12 imploded.
Are the Suns Back?!
OK, so before you get too excited, I’d like to remind you that the Suns have not won two straight games Since Jan. 25-27, but they have won two of three, three of five, and are within striking distance of the final playoff play-in spot.
- Devin Booker scored 24 yesterday to help the Suns to a 125-116 win at Dallas.
- Phoenix is four games under .500 (30-34), but is still just 1.5 games behind the Mavs for the final play-in spot.
- Dallas has lost five straight and is 3-7 over its last 10 games.
Remember, Phoenix still has the toughest remaining schedule, so nothing is a given. Check out what Stephen, Erik and Gerald all had to say after Sunday’s win!
Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley
Sup, Dogs?: The ASU men’s hockey team will face Minnesota Duluth in the NCHC Quarterfinals, which will be held at Mullett Arena. That’s right. PLAYOFF HOCKEY IN THE DESERT! Friday’s puck drop is at 7 pm MST, while Saturday and Sunday (if necessary) both kick off at 6 pm MST. The Sun Devils won three times (including one shootout win) and lost once in overtime against the Bulldogs this season.
Time to Dance: The Big 12 men’s basketball field is set! 15-seed Arizona State faces 10-seed Kansas State at 4 pm MST on Tuesday (ESPN+), and a win would mean a meeting with 7-seed Baylor on Wednesday. The Wildcats earned the 3 seed, so they will not tip off until Thursday at 6:30 pm, where they’ll face either 6-seed Kansas, 11-seed Utah or 14-seed UCF.
Treading Water: The Tucson Roadrunners split their weekend series against Bakersfield, essentially playing .500 hockey. against a team hot on their tails for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The Roadrunners are up by just two points, and worse yet, the Condors have two games in hand.
🧢 Tip of the Hat
Kudos to Derek for some fantastic D-backs coverage from Vegas! This post topped them all — you love to see it.
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