Transfer Janiah Barker helped vault UCLA women to | College News

Janiah Barker advised herself, “We can’t go out like this.”

It was late within the third quarter of Texas A&M’s first-round matchup towards Nebraska within the first NCAA event Barker, then a sophomore ahead, had performed in and her staff had trailed by as many as 17 factors. Barker grabbed the ball within the paint after Nebraska’s Jaz Shelley misplaced her deal with and instantly dished it to teammate Aicha Coulibaly, who was streaking down the court docket and scored.

That sequence sparked a rally from Texas A&M, which went on an 18-5 run to pull within 5 factors. A step-back three from Barker trimmed the lead to 4 with a little more than 5 minutes left within the sport. She may really feel it now. The Eleventh-seeded Aggies had been on the verge of upsetting a No. 5 seed.

“Here we go,” Barker mentioned to herself. “We’re finna win this game.”

With two minutes left and Texas A&M within two factors, Nebraska fed Alexis Markowski, its star, within the post. She backed her defender down, spun to her proper and put up a hook shot that floated harmlessly over the rim. The ball ended up within the palms of the Cornhuskers’ Natalie Potts, who tried a putback solely to be met with an emphatic block by Barker to keep it a one-score sport.

When Coulibalily scored and hit a free throw with 16 seconds to go, the Aggies took a one-point lead. An upset was simply ticks away, however after Nebraska hit free throws and reclaimed the lead, Barker turned the ball over.

Nebraska added one more free throw with 1.7 seconds remaining. Texas A&M’s final hope, a deep three from Endyia Rogers, went broad left because the buzzer sounded and the Aggies misplaced 61-59.

“We were in [the locker room] crying,” Barker remembers. “It was tough.”

Nine months later, Barker transferred to UCLA however remained targeted on avenging her former staff’s loss. She delivered her model of payback Sunday, ending with eight factors, eight rebounds and 4 assists during the No. 1 Bruins’ 91-54 win over Nebraska.

Barker’s high personal requirements had been clear during a journey that took her from College Station, Texas, to Westwood during the offseason.

UCLA coach Cori Close was on the Final Four with Aggies coach Joni Taylor, who talked about she thought Barker would possibly go away this system. Close didn’t assume something of it as a result of she didn’t assume there was a likelihood Barker would take into account coming to Los Angeles.

UCLA ahead Janiah Barker raises her arms within the air and celebrates after the Bruins beat No. 1 South Carolina at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 24.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The Bruins already had depth, whereas Barker was a star for the Aggies and one of the focal factors of their offense. But regardless that she had gives as soon as she hit the switch portal, Barker felt misplaced.

Barker had groups asking how many pictures and how a lot money she needed, however the one factor on her thoughts was successful. The alternatives, coaching and development that UCLA introduced had been precisely what she was searching for. She had her sights set on the Bruins and was up for the problem becoming a member of this system introduced.

“I was looking for hard. I knew going to UCLA wasn’t going to be an easy thing,” she mentioned this week. “There’s so many great players that were already on this team. … In a way, it feels like a fight for the spot. You have to be the best version of yourself every day. … It just forces me to be better, and that’s what I was looking for.”

Close was shocked when Barker’s agent reached out to clarify she needed to come to UCLA. The Bruins had simply picked up a dedication from ahead Timea Gardiner, which added more depth to the roster.

In what she seems to be back on as “the worst recruiting ever,” Close repeatedly requested Barker if she was sure she needed to do that, and why she needed to come to UCLA. Close talked about that her type of teaching is a lot more structured than what Barker was used to. She identified that she has a group service requirement for all gamers.

“I gave her every reason to be like, ‘Yeah, never mind,’” Close mentioned. “But she didn’t.”

Close remembers Barker telling her, “I want to play with other great players. I don’t think it’s best for me to be Batman, I’m OK to be Robin on a really good team.”

The subsequent step was to get Barker on campus for her official go to. It was her first time in Los Angeles and she or he was accompanied by her father and brother as Close gave them a tour of campus and Westwood Village and invited them into her home.

Barker received to participate in follow. It’s not one thing Close normally does on visits, however she needed to see how Barker would slot in with the staff and how she may decide up issues on the court docket. Her passing and court docket imaginative and prescient stood out to Close. Barker then scrimmaged with the staff.

“I was tired. I could not run up and down the court,” Barker laughed as she recalled. “I was trying though.”

Close recalled on the finish of the go to, UCLA’s core group of veterans — Gabriela Jaquez, Lauren Betts, Londynn Jones and Kiki Rice — all mentioned, “Coach, she’s what we need.”

Barker was provided a scholarship that day and she or he instantly dedicated.

“I cried because it was just like, ‘Bro, you don’t know how much of a blessing this is,’” Barker mentioned. “They definitely gave me a chance. They wanted to get to know me, and they aren’t the type of people that are just basketball people. They want to make sure you’re OK as a person, and that’s been known since Day 1.”

Charlisse Legler-Walker met Barker on the day all newcomers, freshmen and transfers, arrived on campus. Legler-Walker, a guard transferring from Washington State, famous that the majority people she’s met by her school profession are a bit shy and reserved at first, particularly in conditions with people who’re new. And then there was Barker, who walked up to her and shouted “What up, twin!” earlier than introducing herself.

“Having just her there and willing to be confident and outspoken, and just not be afraid to get people talking, it really, really helps,” Legler-Walker mentioned. “And I think that’s what helped a lot on that first week, that first day, is just her attitude and energy that she brought.”

Those qualities additionally translate on the court docket. Barker brings toughness to the Bruins that’s contagious. With proficient scorers throughout her, Barker carved her identification on the staff by her tenacity. Whether the staff wants somebody to press on protection, be on prime of the ball or grab some steals and rebounds, she’s who they call on. Her vitality helped the Bruins dominate then-No. 1 South Carolina from wire to wire, rolling to a 77-62 assertion win.

“They knew I was a dog and they knew that they needed a little more toughness and they felt like I could give that to them,” Barker mentioned. “That’s what they’ve been asking for and that’s what I give them.”

Barker is aware of there are a lot of methods she will help her staff even when her pictures should not falling.

“You can always do something,” Barker mentioned. “You can go play defense, you can go get rebounds. And I feel like that’s what makes a dog. … Because I can score. If you want to go one on one, I know you can’t guard me. So on top of that, if I can’t hit a shot today, I know I got shooters around me, so I’m good. I’ll go do everything else and impact the game another way.”

The bond is paying off during a 13-0 begin. Barker is averaging 10 factors and eight rebounds in 21 minutes per sport.

The schedule solely will get harder for UCLA towards a bruising gauntlet of Big Ten groups. And whereas she doesn’t all the time ship the identical team-leading stats she posted at Texas A&M, Barker’s relentless effort ought to proceed to be invaluable for the Bruins.