An emotional Kristy Curry sat in the Maryland press room on March 24.
Her team’s season was over, as Alabama had just lost to the Maryland Terrapins in the round of 32, ending Sarah Ashlee Barker’s college career. Remarkably, she had scored a career-high 45 points, an SEC record in the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn’t enough.
Reflecting on the Crimson Tide guard’s career, Curry got emotional, saying that she wishes she could’ve done more as a coach in the game to help extend Barker’s career a little bit longer.
“She’s what every little girl should aspire to be in the classroom, court and community,” Curry said. “I’m incredibly proud that she chose Alabama and for me to be her coach, and I know she’s going to have an incredibly bright future ahead.”
Just five days later, Nate Oats found himself in a similar situation, sitting in the press room minutes after the Crimson Tide men’s team lost to Duke in the Elite Eight. Oats was asked a question about guard Mark Sears, who finished his career with the second-most points in school history, and the coach had to take a few moments to collect his thoughts.
“You’ve got to put him up there with the greats,” Oats said. “To be second on the school all-time scoring list and make back-to-back Elite Eights for the first time in school history, and he’s the leading scorer both years, that’s pretty incredible.”
It was a rough week for the Crimson Tide basketball programs, and the goodbyes to Sears and Barker were especially gut-wrenching. However, the two Alabama natives have a place among the greats in school history and helped their programs reach previously unheard-of success.
Surprisingly, neither started their career at Alabama. Sears was a Muscle Shoals native but committed to Ohio, while Barker was from Birmingham and opted to play for Georgia. Each played at their respective schools for two seasons before entering the transfer portal in March 2022.
Ultimately, the two returned to their home state and committed to play for Alabama.
“I didn’t think I was going to end my career at Alabama because I chose Georgia over Alabama,” Barker said. “I thank the Lord that I ended up here, to be able to play for Coach Curry for three years and be able to represent the state of Alabama the right way.”
Until they arrived, the men’s program had reached the Elite Eight only once and the women’s had only made the NCAA Tournament once this century.
Three years later, after Barker and Sears played in their last games, the men’s program had made back-to-back Elite Eight games, and the women’s program had made the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive years and advanced to the second round twice. Sears and Barker have been at the forefront of the Alabama basketball resurgence.
The two have had similar paths with the Crimson Tide as well. Both had productive first years in Tuscaloosa, as Sears started all 37 games and averaged 12.5 points per game, while Barker started in 28 games and averaged 6.9 points. She finished strong with all eight double-digit scoring games in the last 16 games.
Both guards broke out in Season 2 with the Crimson Tide, firmly becoming star players and leaders of the team. Sears averaged 21.5 points per game on 43.6% from 3, scored the most points in a season in school history and helped elevate the Crimson Tide to its first Final Four.
Barker improved her scoring by nearly double-digits, averaging a team-high 16.9 points per game, and her 49.1% from the field was a 10.9% improvement from her sophomore season. She guided Alabama to the round of 32 for only the second time this century.
Both had postseason accolades to show in their breakout seasons, as Sears was named a second-team All-American and Barker was named first-team All-SEC.
The breakout season shouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone who knows the two guards, as both are known as extremely hard workers. Barker was regularly the loudest voice in practices and would occasionally text the coaches to come in early while Sears would shoot in the gym by himself, even at 3 a.m.
“Hard work always pays off. Hard work is undefeated, man,” Sears said. “I wouldn’t be here without the hard work.”
This past season was the last in Crimson for the two staples of Alabama basketball, and they continued to be the centerpieces of their programs.
Sears averaged 18.6 points per game and guided the Crimson Tide to an Elite Eight finish. Barker averaged 18.2 points per game and led Alabama to the round of 32 for the second consecutive season.
The postseason accolades highlighted the two’s firm place in Alabama history. Sears became just the second player in program history to be a first-team All-American, while Barker was named to a first-team All-SEC for the second straight season, the only Crimson Tide player to do that since 2000.
In their goodbye posts to Alabama, both Barker and Sears expressed gratitude for being able to represent the state of Alabama over the past three seasons. Sears called it a “blessing,” while Barker expressed a similar sentiment.
“There aren’t enough words to describe how thankful I am to have represented my home,” Barker said.
