In Tennessee’s recent 99-77 loss against UCLA, it seemed like Janiah Barker had some old grudges against her former coach, Cori Close. Following the loss, Barker appeared to avoid shaking hands with Close, who walked by without shaking Close’s outstretched hands.
Barker seemed to be shaking her head as she walked past her former coach. However, Close appeared to shrug it off and continued shaking the hands of other players through the line. Here is a video of it as posted by Fox on Instagram:
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Following this incident, Close said in her postgame news conference,
“I just said, one of the things I’m always going to appreciate about you is how hard you always worked on her game. She’s a great player, explosive.”
Barker also responded to this incident on her Instagram story, assuring her fans that she indeed shook hands with coach Close and wishes nothing but the best for her. But fans weren’t happy about Barker’s actions towards coach Close. One fan said,
“So petty. Just shake her hand and move on.”
Another fan added,
“looks like coach made the right decision.”
This fan said,
“She did shake her hand. She didn’t want the hug.”
Another fan added,
“Poor sportwomenship.”
This fan added,
“She’s at her 3rd school in 4 years. That’s telling enough.”
Another fan said,
“Petty and childish. Grow up.”
With this loss, Tennessee are now 5-2 in the season. Barker, who played her junior season at UCLA, is currently averaging 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.2 assists and is one of the best players for Tennessee. At UCLA, she won the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year award and led the team to a Final Four run for the first time in the program’s history.
What is The Tension Between Cori Close and Janinah Barker?
The exact history or reason for tension between Janinah Barker and UCLA coach Cori Close is unknown. However, with Barker having changed three schools in three years, it does suggest some sort of friction that has plagued her college career so far.
Janinah Barker started her freshman and sophomore seasons at Texas A&M. She was the No.1 option for the team, but failed to lead the Aggies to contend in the SEC. Barker felt dissatisfied with the Aggies as she felt she could have been ‘used way more’. At UCLA as well, Barker was somewhat underutilized by Close, which could have been a reason for contention. However, as per the social media and press responses of both Barker and Close, there seems to be no apparent bad blood between the two.
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