Natasha Denean Adair (née Barnes; born September 7, 1972) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach. She was the head coach for

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

from 2022 to 2025. Adair took over for the Sun Devils after a previous stint at

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, appearing in the NCAA Tournament in 2022.

Playing career

Born Natasha Deanean Barnes in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, she attended

Albert Einstein High School Albert Einstein High School (AEHS) is a four-year public high school in Kensington, Maryland, United States. It first opened in 1962 and is named after the German-born physicist Albert Einstein. It is part of the Montgomery County Public School ...

, where she was a track star, leading her team to the state championship and the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (officially The Penn Relay Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012 ...

Invitational, before switching to play basketball. She went on to be named as a USA All-American in high school basketball and began to receive interest from several college coaches, namely

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

Geno Auriemma Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. He holds the NCAA basketball records for wins and winning percentage with a mi ...

. Following Adair's

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

in 1990, Auriemma did not want her on his team. However,

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

Coach

Trudi Lacey Trudi Lacey (born December 12, 1958) is an American basketball head coach, most recently of the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). NC State statistics Source USA Basketball Lacey was named to the team r ...

called with a plan for Adair to go to

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, to receive treatment. After the treatment, she could play at

Pensacola Junior College Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

and, if recovery went well, transfer to South Florida. Adair went to Pensacola and played the following season, leading her team in rebounding and to two state championships. Lacey monitored her progression, and Adair transferred to South Florida. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication and still maintains the single season rebounding record.

Coaching career

Following Adair's playing career, she went on to be an assistant coach at Georgetown (1998–2004) and Wake Forest (2004–2012). At Georgetown, she was primarily responsible for the post players. At Wake Forest, she was recruiting coordinator and post coach, before being promoted to associate head coach in 2007. In 2012, Adair became

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

's women's head basketball coach. In her first season there, Adair guided her team to 16 wins and a spot in the

Women's Basketball Invitational The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) is a women's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Sport Tours. The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Selections for ...

(WBI) postseason tournament. During the 2013–14 season, Adair's team had a 19–15 record, marking the third-highest win total in the school's Division I era. The squad also finished third in conference play and advanced to the semifinals of both the

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

Championship and the WBI. In 2014, Adair was introduced by Georgetown's Director of Athletics Lee Reed as the Hoyas' ninth women's head basketball coach.

Head coaching record

Source: * CAA 2017–18 Women's Basketball Standings

Personal life

Adair has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adair, Natasha 1972 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball coaches Junior college women's basketball players in the United States Sportspeople from Silver Spring, Maryland South Florida Bulls women's basketball players Wake Forest Demon Deacons women's basketball coaches Charleston Cougars women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Maryland Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens women's basketball coaches Arizona State Sun Devils women's basketball coaches