03.08.18

Katie Barker's 3-pointer is nearly perfect, and that's made the difference for Ohio

Spencer Holbrook / Asst. Sports Editor

Katie Barker ended practice in The Convo the way everyone else on her team did: by shooting.

Swish.

While the other players shot free throws, Barker used a side hoop and shot 3-pointers.

Swish.

Her rebounder, an Ohio manager, had a light workload while rebounding for Barker. She doesn’t miss many open jumpers.

Swish.

Barker learned to shoot unlike many of her peers, and it’s made all the difference. A •redshirt sophomore 3-point specialist for the Bobcats, she has a near flawless shot form that’s admired by her teammates, as well as many on the men’s team.

“I never come out here and shoot the ball for fun,” Barker said. “I shoot to make myself better.”

Most guards learn to shoot jump shots at an early age; Barker path to the perfect shot form was much different. She started inside as a post player in her youth. She rarely stepped outside the paint and learned to play under the basket and be effective there. Touch off the backboard and proper mechanics were key.

Once she entered high school, she began to step outside the paint and hone her craft as a shooter. By the time her high school career was over, she was Cary Grove High School’s all-time leader in 3-pointers, hitting 145. Bob Boldon and Ohio took notice, and Barker became part of Ohio’s 2015 recruiting class.

Following a redshirt season in 2015-16, Barker became a 35.5 percent 3-point shooter during her first season and was labeled a “shooter” by opposing teams.

But this season, Barker got off to a rough start. Coming off an offseason which she wasn’t allowed to do much on the basketball floor due to hip surgery, her shots weren’t falling. It wasn’t because she wasn’t getting shots in the offseason, though. She found ways around that, breaking a new personal record for shots in a day.

“I shot 742 shots,” Barker said. “Those weren’t all 3s, some were closer shots. I probably shot like 600 3s out of all those.”

Kelsey Boeing | FOR THE POST

Katie Barker (2) going up for a three in a post season game against Akron in Athens, Ohio, on March 5 2018. Ohio University won 85-73, sending them to Cleveland to play Miami.

Those shots finally paid off in the Bobcats’ Jan. 24 win over Northern Illinois. Barker, whose season high at the time was three 3-pointers, knocked down eight of 13 from deep, totaling a career-high 24 points.

After the game, Barker acknowledged her struggles from earlier in the season, and having the breakout game against Northern Illinois — which is just an hour southwest of her hometown of Cary, Illinois — was special. She also described her shot as thoughtless, breaking a streak of games when she was overthinking her shooting. The slump was broken without thought.

“I was struggling a lot mentally,” she said. “I would miss shots and just couldn’t get it out of my head. Now I sit back and think why I was struggling so much. I think it was partly my injury. I wasn’t even supposed to be playing until December. It was a mental thing.”

As Barker navigated through the slump that ended against NIU, her coaches and teammates continued to have faith in her. They knew, and still know, the shot was perfect. The follow-through was there. The form was there. Seeing the ball go through the basket just wasn’t.

Boldon has never coached somebody with a better shot form, describing the shot form as perfect. He’s not alone in thinking Barker has mastered shooting a basketball from 20-feet-9-inches. Ohio’s men’s team has taken notice.

James Gollon, the redshirt sophomore who started the final six games for the Bobcats and shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range on the season, learned some of his shooting techniques from Barker. She unknowingly helped teach Gollon how to jump to a pass to get outside shots up quicker.

Gollon appreciates good shooting, no matter what the gender or level of play. When Barker gets hot from outside, Gollon makes sure to watch.

“You can tell when she gets into one of those zones,” Gollon said. “Just like any good shooter. Really just flicking it.”

Appreciating good shooting can only go so far, and then it becomes dangerous. Jordan Dartis, a 42.4 percent 3-point shooter and one of the best outside shooters in program history, found that out the hard way during his and Barker’s freshman year at Ohio. During the Bobcats’ pre-season hype practice known as “Bobcat Madness,” Barker and Dartis decided to have a 3-point shooting contest.

Barker hasn’t forgotten the result.

“We always give each other a little dirt on that,” she said. “We both shot horrible. It was 6-5 or something like that. But I still beat him.”

Gollon, who lived in the same dorm and on the same floor as Barker and Dartis at the time, wasn’t surprised when he was told she remembered the result two years later.

“Of course she did,” Gollon said with a boisterous laugh.

Whether it’s getting hundreds of shots up in the offseason, draining eight 3s in a game to help the Bobcats win or defeating a men’s player in a shooting contest, Barker just keeps shooting.

She doesn’t forget the people who taught her how to score, how to shoot, how to win 3 point contests. Among the many who helped her shoot, one was somebody she has never met: Larry Bird.

Bird, who won three NBA championships, two NBA MVPs and an Olympic gold medal, began his shooting sessions each day by starting under the rim and working his way outside. Barker does the same, knowing if a legend such as Larry Bird can start under the basket, she can too.

After all, that’s where her basketball career began: close to the basket.

“Being close to the rim teaches you the basics of basketball,” she said.

Development by: Megan Knapp / For The Post