Natasha Adair is out at Arizona State after three seasons. Sun Devils AD Graham Rossini should have a good group of candidates to choose from.
Arizona State is moving on from Natasha Adair as its women’s basketball coach after three seasons, the Sun Devils announced Saturday morning.
The hiring of Adair three seasons ago seemed like an odd fit to succeed longtime head coach Charli Turner Thorne, considering Adair had spent her entire life and career on the east coast, and her only experience at the major conference level was as an assistant and associate head coach at Wake Forest.
Adair was able to parlay back-to-back 24-win seasons at Delaware into this opportunity with the Sun Devils, but did not find the same success in Tempe, Arizona. She went 29-62 overall, and in two years in the Pac-12 and one in the Big 12 the Sun Devils won just seven conference games under her watch. Arizona State seemed to hit rock-bottom this year when it lost to teams like Coppin State and UC Davis.
The Sun Devils have changed athletic directors since the last time this job was open, and the athletic department seems to be in a more stable place than when Ray Tanner was leading it. Graham Rossini, who officially took over as AD about a year ago, will have his pick of top-level candidates, from rising stars in the mid-major ranks to former Arizona State players or others with connections to the program.
Under former head coach Turner Thorne, Arizona State enjoyed years of consistent success. The Sun Devils went to 14 NCAA Tournaments in 25 seasons, twice won the Pac-12 regular season title, went to the Sweet 16 five times, and had 18 seasons with a winning record.
To get back to that status, Rossini could turn to one of Turner Thorne’s former players, but talented coaches from the mid-major ranks will be lining up take his calls too. Multiple sources say it’s a coveted job in coaching circles.
Here’s who might get it:
Nikki Blue
Blue checks all the boxes here. She spent 15 seasons as a college assistant coach, ending her time in the NCAA ranks as an assistant under Turner Thorne at Arizona State. For the past four years, she’s been an assistant in the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks. She’s briefly been a head coach, serving as the interim coach of the Mercury in a tumultuous 2023 season where she went 7-21. If Blue wants to jump back into a the college game as a head coach, she could do much worse than returning to Arizona State.
Briann January
Simply put, January is one of the greatest players to ever wear an Arizona State women’s basketball uniform. Playing for Turner Thorne on two teams that went to the Elite Eight, January was a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and her free throw percentage (83.0) is fifth best all-time in Pac-12 history. After a decorated career in the WNBA — which saw her win a championship, make an All-Star team, and be named All-Defense seven times — January got into coaching, beginning her career at Arizona State. She has since been an assistant coach in the WNBA and the NBA’s G-League. Bringing January back to Tempe, where her jersey is retired, would make for a good story.
Molly Miller
Miller might be the most sought-after mid-major coach on the market in this coaching cycle for women’s college basketball. She’s already been contacted by SEC programs and she should get a call from Arizona State too, which is less than a 20-minute drive from where she’s currently coaching at Grand Canyon. Under the direction of Miller, the Lopes went 28-2 this season, capturing the regular season WAC title and beating Arizona State, Arizona and Northern Arizona along the way. Miller, 38, is 113-37 in five seasons at Grand Canyon and is eyeing her first NCAA Tournament appearance there this season. She had a ton of success in the Division II ranks too, leading Drury College to a 118-17 record and five NCAA Tournament berths in six seasons. Miller wouldn’t even have to hit the housing market if she got this job.
Other coaches that might be in the mix for Arizona State include UNLV’s Lindy La Rocque, Northern Arizona’s Loree Payne, and Tulsa’s Angie Nelp.
