BLACKSVILLE — Many can sit back and think of their sports idols, but some never get a chance to see them play in person.
Other are fortunate enough to watch an entire career unfold right in front of them, as was the case with Clay-Battelle’s Haley Barr.
While Barr was in elementary and middle schools, she visited the WVU Coliseum and watched Liz Repella play for the WVU women’s basketball team from 2008-’11.
Repella, a guard from Steubenville, Ohio, helped the Mountaineers reach the NCAA tournament three times in her four seasons.
Not only did Repella help WVU reach new heights, she also made quite an impression on a young fan in the crowd.
“I got lots of shots up in practice so I could hit 3s like Liz,” Barr said. “I focused on attacking and drawing two defenders so I could kick it outside to an open teammate like all the great point guards I watched.”
While WVU was in the Big East, Barr not only watched Repella, but other star players, such as Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins and Louisville’s Shoni Schimmel — taking bits and pieces from their games.
Although Barr will not play for WVU and never met Repella, the two have something in common: Being part of a 1,000-point club.
Repella scored her 1,000th point at WVU in February 2010, against Providence, as a junior.
Barr, now a senior with the Cee-Bees, achieved the same milestone Dec. 29, at South Harrison.
Before the game, head coach David Joyce told Barr she was sitting at 999 points for her career, just one away. It took a little longer than expected, but a jumper in the second quarter finally went down. More importantly for Barr, the game ended in a 54-46 C-B win.
The team-first mentality goes back to her freshman year, when Barr filled a role that wasn’t exactly her forte.
As a newcomer to basketball in the second grade at the Nate Smith Basketball School, Barr was a shooting guard and played off the ball. She shuffled between the two guard positions while playing for the Rampage travel team.
But with an opening at point guard for a veteran Cee-Bees team, Barr put in the gym time and won the job as a freshman.
“The adjustment was made a little easier from all of the travel basketball I played, but I still had to come to practice ready to compete and go as hard as I could all the time,” she said. “We had some experienced upperclassmen on the team that were pretty versatile and could play just about anywhere on the floor, so I had to step up and become a true point guard.”
Three years later, Barr hasn’t given up the starting point guard position. It’s obvious she already knew how to score, but the most difficult part was learning how to be the team’s quarterback and knowing where teammates were going to be and getting the ball to the right person.
Now, as a veteran herself, Barr believes she has set a good example for the younger players on the team — a Cee-Bees group
(4-4) with two seniors. As her high school career winds down, Barr will take plenty of memories with her.
“My career at C-B will always mean a lot to me,” she said. “It’s a reminder of how tight-knit our community is when we have loyal fans that show up to every game to support the team and cheer us on, no matter what. I’ve always made friendships that will last a lifetime with my teammates and some of my opponents. That means a lot.”
