This Saturday, Oct. 22, Storm color analyst Adia Barnes is the co-host of the MVP Challenge 5K, a run/walk around Green Lake to raise money for Andrew Moritz in his battle against a rare form of cancer. Moritz is a former state champion at Franklin High School who walked on to the University of Washington’s basketball team and later was part of the Storm’s practice squad, which is where he met Barnes.

Last week, Steve Kelley wrote in the Seattle Times about Moritz’s condition, which turned for the worse earlier this month when doctors determined that chemotherapy could no longer help him. That makes it all the more crucial for Moritz’s friends and family to raise money to explore alternative treatment methods.

Registration for the MVP Challenge 5K, which is co-sponsored by the Adia Barnes Foundation and the Marvin Thomas Memorial Fund, is $30 in advance or $40 at the event. For more details and to register, click here.

By phone from University of Washington, where she’s in her first season as an assistant coach under new women’s head coach Kevin McGuff, Barnes shared more on how she got to know Moritz and what Storm fans can expect if they attend this Saturday.

How did you get involved with Andrew’s cause?
I first met Andrew back in 2002, when he was a practice player for the Storm. He was a great guy, funny; we all loved him. I remember he had the biggest crush on Sue Bird, so that was funny. I still tease him about that today. Daniel Shapiro [formerly the Storm's strength and conditioning coach] and Andrew are best friends, so I’ve kept up and would periodically ask Daniel about Andrew. We all had lunch six months ago and I found out more, what was going on and what a difficult time he was having.

I learned that in America, your insurance can tap out. His insurance tapped out at $2 million. Financially, this is a huge strain on his family. His costs have been a million a year. I never even knew that could happen. I didn’t want to bring it up then, but later on I asked Daniel, ‘Why don’t I try to have a fundraiser for him?’ I have a foundation, I have the resources, so I wanted to try to raise some money to help him.

This was five or six months ago, and his situation has gotten a lot worse during this time. Before, it was really just to offset costs because it’s so expensive with traveling. Now, chemo is no longer an option. It’s given me even more incentive to raise money because he needs this to stay alive. He needs this amount for his last shot to go to an alternative hospital. The money raised in this event will send him to either Canada or Mexico for alternative medicine that isn’t approved by the FDA but could work. Miracles happen. He’s ready to fight; he’s not ready to give up. Giving up is not an option for him.

What can Storm fans expect if they show up on Saturday?
They’re going to sign up for the run. It costs $30. You get a T-shirt, your bib and you can either walk or run around Green Lake. It’s beautiful. Andrew will be there, as will the Husky women’s basketball team and NBA players like Shawn Kemp and Jamal Crawford. It’s the best $30 you can ever spend. You’re helping someone possibly save their life. It’s money donated to a great cause. We’re all there to support him and help him with his last shot at life. It’s definitely something to be involved in.

You walk around and just have a great time. If you have kids, there’s a free kids’ dash. It’s going to be a fun morning, a way to start out your Saturday donating to a great cause.

Why is this cause so important to you?
He could die today; he could die tomorrow. He was given six months when he was first diagnosed. He’s already beaten the odds. Everybody’s affected by cancer somehow, whether it’s a friend, a friend of a friend, a family member. To come out and support that, it’s pretty powerful. He’s a great guy, full of life and he’s not ready to give up. I just want to help him have that opportunity to be able to go to this hospital and have his last chance. There is no other solution. I’m trying to help him any way I can.

Two days after being named an assistant coach at the University of Washington, Storm radio and TV analyst Adia Barnes looks the part. She showed up at the Storm’s business offices Thursday decked out in her new favorite color, purple. Barnes took a minute to chat about getting into coaching while continuing in her role with the Storm.

Have you always been interested in coaching?
As a player, I wasn’t thinking about coaching. When I was about 25, Coach (Joan) Bonvicini [Barnes' college coach at Arizona, who is now the head coach at Seattle University] offered me a coaching job. Back then, I was like, ‘No way!’ I was still playing, still having fun. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about coaching, but I’ve always liked mentoring and I’ve always liked camps and individual work. So I didn’t realize how much I liked coaching until after. Then I started thinking, ‘What are my passions? What are things I like to do?’ It always went back to coaching. I never thought a few years ago that I’d try to make a career out of it.

How did this opportunity with the UW women come about?
I heard a lot of buzz about who they were most likely going to hire. There were all these names being thrown out. I think when you get done playing for 12 years professionally and traveling all over the world, you want to find one place. For me, my second home – now my permanent home – is Seattle. I’ve been a part of this community. I didn’t want to pursue a job anywhere else. I love the Storm broadcasts, I love being part of this organization, so I definitely knew I wanted to continue to do this.

So when I heard Kevin McGuff got the job, my reaction was, ‘Wow!’ He’s a great coach. He’s a proven winner. He built Xavier – he was Xavier Basketball. I became Private Eye Barnes and did all kinds of research from his ex-players to people who knew him and coaches who coached under him. All I heard was great things. So I thought, if I’m going to put myself in a situation to learn and be mentored, it’s from someone like him – an up-and-coming, great coach. Then, it was here in Seattle, so it couldn’t get any better. I can stay here, stay involved with the Storm, be mentored by one of the greatest young coaches. It’s just a dream come true. That’s the only job I went for, the only job I wanted. If I hadn’t gotten it, I probably would have pursued a job somewhere else in a few years, but this was perfect.

What kind of potential is there for the Husky program?
I think tremendous opportunity. I think he’s going to reinvent the future. I look back at when I played in the Pac-10, ‘94 to ‘98, I remember how Hec Ed used to be. I remember there were 5 or 6,000 crazy fans. When we had Washington on our schedule – even Washington State, those were two tough teams. That was a tough road trip. It hasn’t been like that. I think he is a coach that can keep players here in Washington. That’s a huge thing; there is so much talent that has not stayed here. I think that’s going to be one of the first things you have to do. There are a lot of good players in this region. I think this program is going to really turn around and has a tremendous amount of potential. It should be in the top tier for sure.

There have always been ties between the Storm and the Husky women. Can you strengthen that relationship?
No doubt. I think I’ll be the bridge. That’s a direct connection. They can both help each other grow. This is a basketball city. The Storm fans, we have 10,000 of the best fans in the world and by far in the WNBA if you look at the other arenas. We have a core group that loves basketball. They want to follow UW, but they want to follow a good product and coaches that are out in the community and doing a lot of stuff the Storm does. I think that as a staff, we understand that. I know Coach McGuff has done that. The buzz that’s created now, there’s going to be a lot of momentum. We’re excited – I know I’m excited.

Why was continuing to do Storm broadcasts important to you?
I love it. I love the WNBA. I’ve been involved in the WNBA since the second year – so 14 years now. I really have built a family here. It’s not like it’s a job, it’s like it’s part of my family. It doesn’t feel like work. I get to analyze and talk about something I love. I think the skills that I’ve built as a broadcaster are going to help me with communicating, with analyzing. Then the other thing, from a personal, coaching standpoint, it’s awesome for me. I get to go learn from Kevin McGuff, Mike Neighbors, Kevin Morrison on one coaching staff. Then when I’m traveling, I get to go learn from WNBA Coach of the Year Brian Agler, Jenny Boucek and Nancy Darsch. Nancy Darsch was a huge college coach. Jenny Boucek’s been a head coach in the WNBA also. I get six incredible mentors. What other young coach gets that? On the road, I can come to any practice. So I have a tremendous opportunity to grow a lot in a way I think other young coaches don’t. I saw all those things, when I thought about my decision, and that’s why I thought, ‘I want this job. I’m getting it.’ I just went for it. I figured if it was meant to me, I was going to get it. Everything happened perfectly.