WBB: Kim Barnes Arico Named USA Basketball Assistant Coach
Congrats to Michigan women's hoops coach Kim Barnes Arico on being named an assistant coach for the USA Basketball women's team that will be competing for the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship this summer.
“It has always been a dream of mine to be involved with USA Basketball and represent our country,” Barnes Arico said. “It is one of the highest honors you can achieve in any sport. To get an opportunity to be surrounded by the best players and coaches in the game is exciting. I am thrilled to be teaming up with two of the brightest minds in the business.”
The USA Basketball coaching posts are given out to the most respected coaches in the country, so this is another sign that the Michigan program is in great hands. And certainly her involvement will also bring additional attention to the program and should further elevate Michigan in the eyes of recruits.
The dates for the championship aren't set yet, but there is this on the trials for the U18 team from the mgoblue.com release:
USA Basketball will conduct trials for the 2014 USA Women's U18 National Team May 23-27 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and players eligible for this competition must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1996.
February 26th, 2014 at 11:01 AM ^
February 26th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
February 26th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
Michigan has a very weak history in women's basketball, which hasn't exactly made it the most enticing place for recruits to consider. With the recruiting classes she has and will be bringing in, Barnes Arico will have the team competing for Big Ten titles if not by next year, certainly by the year after. That alone will be a major accomplishment for a program that has never won a Big Ten title and has never made it past the second round of the NCAA tourney.
Taking the program to the next level after that is another matter, given that women's basketball has about the least amount of parity in all of college sports. A handful of elite programs stockpile most of the elite players in every recruiting class, a problem that's compounded by the smaller number of elite prospects compared to men's basketball. Barnes Arico has landed a couple of near-elite players and a bunch of top 100 prospects, which is unprecedented for Michigan but probably not enough for a realistic shot at a national championship.
So, getting up to the level of a UConn or Notre Dame will mean taking the recruiting up to another level, which this USA Basketball appointment could certainly help with.
February 26th, 2014 at 12:23 PM ^
lots I didn't know about the landscape of women's college ball. I have been watching FSU's women's team claw for the top for ten years now, and wondered about the odds. . . Arico really has some chutzpah, and it looks like women's hoops is undoubtedly on the rise. Good luck to them!
February 26th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
That's neat.
February 26th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
I think this is positive.