By Rubin E. Grant
With the state of Alabama on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, Sarah Ashlee Barker had to find out on Twitter that she had been awarded the most prestigious honor given to a girls basketball player in the state.
Barker was named the 2020 Alabama Sports Writers Association Miss Basketball in a tweet on April 3.
“They had told us they would post who won it at 11 o’clock (in the morning) on April 3,” Barker said. “I saw it when people started texting me.”
It was a strange way to find out since Miss Basketball usually is announced during a banquet.
“It was very different,” Barker said, “not receiving it (at) a banquet when you have to do (a) speech. I didn’t get to do that.”
So, the Spain Park senior guard was thinking about posting her acceptance speech on Twitter.
“I’ll probably make a video and put it on Twitter,” she said.
Asked what she planned to say, Barker replied:
“I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because I can’t do anything if not for Him.
“I want to thank my parents, my mom (Amy Best) and my dad (Jay Barker) for supporting me and loving me. They were never hard on me and even after a bad game, they never put any pressure on me. My mom is my hero because of everything she sacrificed for me.
“I want to thank (Spain Park) coach (Mike) Chase, who started coaching me in the sixth grade and was the first person to tell me I could make a difference for Spain Park basketball. He kept pushing me to be the best player I could be.
“I want to thank my teammates. I wouldn’t be anywhere without my teammates. They see me every day, my lows and highs, and they always support me. We’re a sisterhood, so I honestly feel this is a team award. We did it together. It wasn’t just me.
“I also want to thank my trainer, Sarah Lynch, who was in there working with me every day. There’s nobody who’s a better trainer than her.”
This season, Barker led the Jaguars to their second Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 7A state championship in the past three seasons, averaging 23.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals as Spain Park finished with a 32-4 record.
She was named the Over The Mountain Journal Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. She also was tabbed as the Gatorade State Player of the Year, the MaxPreps State Player of the Year, and the ASWA Class 7A Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
“I’ve been coaching in Birmingham for 22 years and there have been a lot of good players,” Chase said, “but she is the best player I’ve ever coached and she’s the best player I’ve ever seen play.”
Barker is headed to Georgia to play in college. She was supposed to report to Athens on May 31, but that might change because of the pandemic.
Much of her spring already has been disrupted because of the outbreak.
“It’s definitely unfortunate that we have to miss prom and possibly graduation,” Barker said. “I’m trying to take the positives from it. God is in control.”
