By R.L. Bynum
GREENSBORO — On Monday night, most players faced some of the toughest competition of their careers, but that was far from the case for Sydney Barker.
After going up against her talented North Carolina teammates in practices and pickup games at Carmichael Arena in the past month, the talent level was down a few notches for the 5–6 freshman at the N.C. Coaches Association Women’s East-West All-Star Game at the Greensboro Coliseum.
But it was no less physical, though, and she had a scar on her back to prove it.
Barker started, played 32 minutes at point guard and was a calming force as her East team held on for a 74–68 victory, contributing seven points, a game-high five assists and six rebounds.
“It was a lot different,” Barker said, comparing the game to the rigorous training in Carmichael. “It prepared me. I’ve been able to be with a lot of good talent and physical girls. We’ve been up and down, so I feel like I was in shape. I was able to go up and down.”
Barker was too intent on playing hard to even notice a red mark on her back.
“I think it was a fast break, and someone came up and scratched my back behind me,” Barker said. “I didn’t even know it was scratched, and when I went to the bench, the athletic trainer came over and was wiping it down.”
Seven of her Carolina teammates were there to support her and screamed her name when they found her in an arena hallway after the game. They all know how tough it’s been back in Chapel Hill with the weightlifting, conditioning and team practices.
She had a tough shooting night, missing all five 3-point attempts, and Barker said that those workouts may have played a part.
“I think I’m a little sore from all the stuff we’ve been doing in the summer,” Barker said. “So, my legs were kind of shot. Just trying to set up people and a lot of other girls were hot tonight, so just trying to get the ball in their hands as much as possible.”
Southeast Raleigh coach Nicole Sampson, who coached UNC senior center Anya Poole in high school, was the head coach for the East team. She praised Barker for not letting the shooting woes affect the rest of her game.
“She’s not going to let that dictate how she approaches the rest of the game,” Sampson said. “You wouldn’t know she had a bad shooting night because of every other thing she did.”
The East team led by 12 with 6:08 remaining, but Barker helped steady the team as it held off the charge from the West team.
“Sydney’s just a leader,” Sampson said. “She leads in every aspect of the game, and we needed her leadership tonight. She encouraged some of the girls who were down. We kind of lost our composure for a while; she’s a coach on the floor. She did everything we needed for her to do.”
Barker showed off her court leadership, quickness and flair for making quick passes to open players. She would have had a few more the way Dean Smith kept them if not for her teammates missing shots.
“I love setting my teammates up,” Barker said. “If I can get to the middle or get somebody on the back door or just hit a post entry, I love doing that.”
Barker was a big part of helping the East play better offensively as the game progressed. They only had two practices and a shootaround to bond as a team before the game.
“I think in the first half, we didn’t move the ball as well,” Barker said. “In the second half, I really think we made the adjustment of just slowing down and running through our sets. That started with me; I knew if I slowed it down and called the sets and put people in place, that we would eventually move it. We got a lot of 3s and fast breaks and good little layups.”
Barker rebounded from four first-half turnovers and committed only one after halftime.
Barker had a fast break layup and a rebound as the East jumped out to a 5–2 lead. The East led by as many as seven before leading 33–31 at halftime, with Barker playing a game-high 16 minutes and scoring all six of her points on driving layups.
The East was ahead by 11 points when Barker went to the bench for the final five minutes of the third quarter, and that edge was 53–44 entering the fourth quarter.
The East started battling after a pair of West 3-pointers pulled it within one with three minutes left. Barker’s long pass from outside the arc to E.E. Smith guard Skylar White for a layup with 1:36 left pushed the East’s lead to 67–63. White’s two free throws for the East with 18.7 seconds left put the game away.
Rocky Mount’s Caroline Theil, who will play for Charlotte, and Purnell Swett’s Kylie Chavis, who is headed was the game’s MVP and is headed to UNCW, led the East with 13 points each. Kyla Bryant had 15 for the West.
Now it’s back to the grind in Chapel Hill for Barker, with weight training in the morning and practice in the afternoon.
“Just go back home, get a good meal, sleep, and up in the morning,” Barker said.
NOTES — Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski appeared in a question-and-answer session in the arena Monday afternoon in front of the coaches attending the North Carolina Coaches Association clinic. Moderated by ESPN and ACC Network’s Wes Durham, it will be shown later on ESPN or ACC Network. … Barker is the fourth Jordan High player to play in the women’s game after Kristen Lyon in 2010, Salita Greene in 2015 and Talia Barnes in 2017. Justin Watts, a Jordan graduate who played at UNC, was in the men’s game in 2008. … The teams combined to go 17 of 61 from 3-point range.
East 74, West 68
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
Potential UNC 2024–25 roster
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | — | Lanie Grant (5 star) | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | — | Blanca Thomas (5 star) | C | 6–5 | |
| Freshman | — | Jordan Zubich (4 star) | G | 5–11 | |
| RS Freshman | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS Freshman | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 10 | Reniya Kelly | PG | 5–7 | |
| Sophomore | 15 | Sydney Barker | PG | 5–6 | |
| RS Junior | 11 | Kayla McPherson | PG | 5–8 | |
| Junior | 24 | Indya Nivar | G | 5–10 | |
| Senior | 5 | Maria Gakdeng | C | 6–3 | |
| Graduate | — | Grace Townsend | G | 5–5 | |
| Graduate | 20 | Lexi Donarski | G | 6–0 | |
| Graduate | 1 | Alyssa Ustby | F | 6–1 | |
| Graduate | 25 | Deja Kelly | G | 5–8 |
2023–24 UNC players to enter transfer portal
| Class | Player | Date entered | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | Paulina Paris | March 26 | G | 5–9 | Arizona |
| Graduate | Ali Zelaya | April 1 | F | 6–4 | UNCW |
| Graduate | Anya Poole | April 1 | F | 6–2 | Clemson |
| RS junior | Teonni Key | April 2 | F | 6–4 | Kentucky |
| Sophomore | RyLee Grays | April 5 | F | 6–3 | Virginia |
| Graduate | Deja Kelly | G | 5–8 | TBA |
Top photo by Gene Galin
tarheeltribune.com 
