Janiah Barker told herself, “We can’t go out like this.”
It was late in the third quarter of Texas A&M’s first-round matchup against Nebraska in the first NCAA tournament Barker, then a sophomore forward, had played in and her team had trailed by as many as 17 points. Barker grabbed the ball in the paint after Nebraska’s Jaz Shelley lost her handle and immediately dished it to teammate Aicha Coulibaly, who was streaking down the court and scored.
That sequence sparked a rally from Texas A&M, which went on an 18-5 run to pull within five points. A step-back three from Barker trimmed the lead to four with a little more than five minutes left in the game. She could feel it now. The 11th-seeded Aggies were on the verge of upsetting a No. 5 seed.
“Here we go,” Barker said to herself. “We’re finna win this game.”
Read more: No. 5 UCLA stuns No. 1 South Carolina to reaffirm its national title aims
With two minutes left and Texas A&M within two points, Nebraska fed Alexis Markowski, its star, in the post. She backed her defender down, spun to her right and put up a hook shot that floated harmlessly over the rim. The ball ended up in the hands of the Cornhuskers’ Natalie Potts, who attempted a putback only to be met with an emphatic block by Barker to keep it a one-score game.
When Coulibalily scored and hit a free throw with 16 seconds to go, the Aggies took a one-point lead. An upset was just ticks away, but 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 last hope, a deep three from Endyia Rogers, went wide left as the buzzer sounded and the Aggies lost 61-59.
“We were in [the locker room] crying,” Barker recalls. “It was tough.”
Nine months later, Barker transferred to UCLA but remained focused on avenging her former team’s loss. She delivered her version of payback Sunday, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists during the No. 1 Bruins’ 91-54 win over Nebraska.
Barker’s high personal standards were clear during a journey that took her from College Station, Texas, to Westwood during the offseason.
UCLA coach Cori Close was at the Final Four with Aggies coach Joni Taylor, who mentioned she thought Barker might leave the program. Close didn’t think anything of it because she didn’t think there was a chance Barker would consider coming to Los Angeles.
The Bruins already had depth, while Barker was a star for the Aggies and one of the focal points of their offense. But even though she had offers once she hit the transfer portal, Barker felt lost.
Barker had teams asking how many shots and how much money she wanted, but the only thing on her mind was winning. The opportunities, training and development that UCLA presented were exactly what she was looking for. She had her sights set on the Bruins and was up for the challenge joining the program presented.
“I was looking for hard. I knew going to UCLA wasn’t going to be an easy thing,” she said 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 explain she wanted to come to UCLA. The Bruins had just picked up a commitment from forward Timea Gardiner, which added more depth to the roster.
In what she looks back on as “the worst recruiting ever,” Close repeatedly asked Barker if she was sure she wanted to do this, and why she wanted to come to UCLA. Close mentioned that her style of coaching is a lot more structured than what Barker was used to. She pointed out that she has a community service requirement for all players.
Read more: Lauren Betts returns and Cori Close earns win No. 300 as UCLA blows out Nebraska
“I gave her every reason to be like, ‘Yeah, never mind,’” Close said. “But she didn’t.”
Close recalls 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 next step was to get Barker on campus for her official visit. It was her first time in Los Angeles and she 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 got to take part in practice. It’s not something Close usually does on visits, but she wanted to see how Barker would fit in with the team and how she could pick up things on the court. Her passing and court vision stood out to Close. Barker then scrimmaged with the team.
“I was tired. I could not run up and down the court,” Barker laughed as she recalled. “I was trying though.”
Close recalled at the end of the visit, UCLA’s core group of veterans — Gabriela Jaquez, Lauren Betts, Londynn Jones and Kiki Rice — all said, “Coach, she’s what we need.”
Barker was offered a scholarship that day and she immediately committed.
“I cried because it was just like, ‘Bro, you don’t know how much of a blessing this is,’” Barker said. “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, noted that most people she’s met through her college career are a bit shy and reserved at first, especially in situations with people who are new. And then there was Barker, who walked up to her and shouted “What up, twin!” before 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 said. “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.”
Read more: UCLA women’s basketball ranked No. 1 in AP poll for first time after South Carolina win
Those qualities also translate on the court. Barker brings toughness to the Bruins that’s contagious. With talented scorers all around her, Barker carved her identity on the team through her tenacity. Whether the team needs someone to press on defense, be on top of the ball or grab some steals and rebounds, she’s who they call on. Her energy helped the Bruins dominate then-No. 1 South Carolina from wire to wire, rolling to a 77-62 statement 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 said. “That’s what they’ve been asking for and that’s what I give them.”
Barker knows there are many ways she can help her team even if her shots are not falling.
“You can always do something,” Barker said. “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 start. Barker is averaging 10 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes per game.
The schedule only gets tougher for UCLA against a bruising gauntlet of Big Ten teams. And while she doesn’t always deliver the same team-leading stats she posted at Texas A&M, Barker’s relentless effort should continue to be invaluable for the Bruins.
Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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