Heading into year two under Kim Caldwell, Lady Vols basketball sports arguably the best transfer class in the country. Perhaps the top player in that group is UCLA transfer Janiah Barker. She’s already seen her name pop up on WNBA mock drafts and is considered one of the best forwards in the nation.
However, Barker was extremely close to choosing another school this off-season. She was so close to committing elsewhere, she even gave Tennessee’s coaches a call to let them know she wasn’t going to be headed to Knoxville. It was during that conversation that things changed, though.
“I wasn’t even gonna come if I’m being honest,” Barker said. “I almost went to another school and I had called her and was like I’m actually gonna go here. I was like I don’t know, I feel like God is telling me to go to Tennessee, but like I’m just gonna go here. And she was like, ‘And you’re not gonna listen to God?’ Just talking to her and her honesty from the jump has been my biggest thing.”
Assistant coach Gabe Lazo, who had a prior relationship with Barker before she entered the portal out of UCLA, was also a big part of landing her. He remembers Barker revealing that she was going to go elsewhere, but wasn’t going to give up that easily.
He credited the call with Caldwell and the tag-team effort of letting her know the impact she could have on the team as the reason they were able to eventually seal the deal.
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“I’ll never forget it,” Lazo said. “She basically told me she was going somewhere else. Kim got on the phone with her and did some magic. I have a prior relationship with Janiah and we just didn’t give up. To best describe, Kim did a great job giving her some pros and some cons. We tag-teamed and we really just didn’t give up on Janiah. We just wanted her to understand the impact that she can make here and the impact that Tennessee can have on her.”
That transparency with Barker went a long way in getting her to trust the vision Caldwell and the Lady Vols’ staff have for her. Barker played for Texas A&M and UCLA before getting to Knoxville, but never felt like she was able to play freely and reach her potential.
Now, inside Caldwell’s system, she has the chance to show off her rare skillset. Tennessee is comfortable with her playing out on the perimeter when it makes sense, and she’ll have the chance to get up threes in the flow of the offense, as well. That wasn’t the case a year ago, when she averaged less than one 3-point attempt per contest with the Bruins.
There’s still an emphasis for her to get downhill and score at the rim, but she’ll have the opportunity to use her skills and athleticism in the process.
“Truly, I feel like Coach Caldwell had a belief in who I was and seeing me for me,” Barker said. “Playing for two different programs before, not really being able to do what I’ve always wanted to do, just play freely. Talking to Coach Kim about it, she just told me the straightforward. She told me, I don’t have a lot of time, you don’t have a lot of time. So let’s just make sure you get exactly what you want. She came with that. She hasn’t told me a lie. I think, just being here and trusting her and trusting the process has really been crazy.”
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Now, Barker is starting to appear on WNBA mock drafts. According to ESPN, she could go in the first round of next year’s draft, making her potentially the first draft pick Caldwell has produced at Tennessee.
Caldwell sees the appeal for her at the next level, as well. She compared her to five-star freshman Jaida Civil, who has garnered a lot of praise for her athleticism thus far.
“I think her size and athleticism with her skill set is something like I have never seen before,” Caldwell said. “She has the athleticism almost of Jaida Civil but at her size. And when she really decides to put her head down and go to the rim, it’s scary.”
The Lady Vols don’t have much time to get Barker and the rest of the newcomers situated, though. Tennessee begins its gauntlet of an out-of-conference schedule in a top-10 clash against NC State in Greensboro. Then, things cool down a bit, before more ranked foes appear on the non-conference slate and the SEC schedule gets underway.
