The Athletic Has a Great Story on KBA
It details her journey from Division III to the Elite 8. It’s paywalled, but here’s a link:https://theathletic.com/3213370/2022/03/28/from-division-iii-to-elite-eight-how-michigans-kim-barnes-arico-built-the-hardest-working-team-in-america/
Yeah i was just reading this. It's great to see her take such a huge career risk like she did (first coaching gig was $5,000 /year and one of her stops was a no-win situation) and come out on top at Michigan.
She is incredible. I have my kids now watching the games and they are saying "the women's team is better than the men's." I really can't correct them here...
On a relative basis, yes, they obviously are.
Maybe we don't compare all UM sports teams to put down one in favor of another. Also, always comparing the women to the men is unfair to the women.
"Maybe we don't compare all UM sports teams to put down one in favor of another." That would be nice. A year ago, many posts here were using the MBB team's success under Juwan Howard to criticize the FB team's performance under Jim Harbaugh.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
It’s been a pleasure to watch both teams this year.
One thing we love about the Women’s team is (with the exception of Brown’s injury) it’s been a very consistent viewing experience…
I will inform my 6 year old about your post :).
March 28th, 2022 at 10:14 PM ^
The WBB volume of turnovers make me crazy, and the mens team to a degree as well.
I like stories of career coaches who start at the bottom (paging John Beilein). Farleigh Dickenson - Madison anyone? Seen the campus and its beautiful. Athletically its more like Love Canal. NJIT? Adelphi? An awful St. Johns program. Everyplace KBA has been was far better when she left than how she found it. Same here in Ann Arbor. Just a really excellent coach.
Thanks. Glad she's a Michigan coach.
I wish people could just spell out peoples names. It can’t take but a few more seconds. Had no idea who KBA was. Anyways, get off my lawn!!
Yes, take the 10 seconds to spell out names. I assumed KBA referred to a new professional basketball association.
Or a Russian spy agency.
I assumed KBA referred to a new professional basketball association.
Second consecutive board post unexpectedly not authored by GhostOfJermaine.
i ordinarily completely and totally agree, and resisted it for years, but it's become a pretty common reference in this case.
I'm just glad that the whole "Cxx" thing never caught on, as in "CJH" = Coach Juwan Howard (or Jim Harbaugh).
I see other fanbases do this ALL the time and it's really annoying.
+1 he’s not my coach. Although would gladly use it to refer to urban Meyer *winks as obviously as my facial muscles will allow*
March 28th, 2022 at 10:04 PM ^
Can we institute a fine system for this? Or trips to Bolivia?
Abbreviation abuse is a real and underappreciated disease.
KBA is terrific. I hope Michigan is the last stop on her journey and that the journey makes a stop in Minneapolis this weekend.
A tidbit I didn't see earlier, from a Wichita newspaper. I probably just missed it earlier.
"Fans may have been wondering why Michigan women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico was wearing a number 11 softball jersey during the Wolverines' historic NCAA Tournament win in Wichita on Saturday.
. . . .
"The reason is because Barnes Arico is honoring her brother, who died in 2019 after years of being in a vegetative state following a 2005 accident when he went running near his London home and suffered cardiac arrest. He was a standout baseball and basketball player who wore the No. 11, hence why his older sister now proudly dons the number on the sideline of her games."
Thanks for the paywalled link that I, or most others can't access to get a complete understanding of the story. Pay wall stories do nothing here other than raise expectations that will NEVER be filled; unless you want to PAY for it. (These type of articles should not be teased unless MOST can see it w/o being paywalled.)
At least I am not hiding behind the negbangs that I will receive.
I wish nothing but the best to the WBB ladies as well as KBA, as I listen to her interview on WTKA right now, despite what others may think.
At least give a little insight as to what the article says, other than it was a "Great Story". How does anyone know if it was GREAT if no one can read it or if you provide no info about it?
There are ALL KINDS of GREAT articles that I can post with links, but it will mean nothing if they are paywalled. SMH.
GO BLUE!!!!
All I was able to get before the "give us money" banner was that she lost her first game by almost 100 points coaching for a DII school that paid $5000/year. She figured she could go back into teaching if coaching didn't work out. Then she fought through the DIII and DII ranks... (text fades out, money banner appears)
I get the sense it's a very Beilein-esque story, based on the intro and other comments.
But was she ever an assistant coach at any level?
/S
Great article. She's done amazing things with this program. Let's keep building.