Barnes to play at Div.1 UW-Milwaukee
By JJ Ossola
IV Leader Sports editor, May 3, 2007
Sophomore women’s basketball stand-out Markita Barnes will
be trading in her purple and whites for gold and black as she joins the
University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee next season.
Barnes also was honored by the National Junior College
Athletic Association by being named third-team All American for the second year
in a row, and had been first team All American at the beginning of the season.
Barnes led the division in assists per game with 8.43, ranked
seventh in steals, with 4.7 per game, and 24 th in scoring with an average of
17.4 points per game. She also averaged 5.8 rebounds per game.
Barnes will join a team that has three All-State award
winners as well as head coach Sandy Botham who had led her team to the NCAA
tourney in 2001 and will be in her 12 th year of coaching the team.
Botham said, “What put us over the top on Markita is when she
came to visit with her mother a few weeks back. She got along instantly with the
other players and she has a good character. That’s what is important to us.
Well, that and she has the strong handle and is an outside/inside scoring threat
and we need a point guard. With her versatility, we see her as a possible combo
guard, playing the one or two off the bench. With her confidence and experience
she could vie for the starting job but we will have to wait and see what next
season brings.”
Head Coach Steve Crick said, “This is a great opportunity for
Markita. We are just very happy for her. In my 25 years of coaching, Markita
will be my first to go to a Division one school.” Crick went on to say, “She did
everything right. She had a game plan and she followed it every step of the way.
She is a great example of what hard work can do. She’s following her dream and
Milwaukee will be a great opportunity for her to step up to.”
Barnes said of Illinois Valley Community College and her
future school; “It feels good to know that my hard work has opened another
chapter in my basketball career. IVCC has made me a better person both on and
off the court. Teachers are always hoping for the best for me. I hope that I can
take all that I learned here to the next level.”
Barnes’s mother Carolyn said, “I’m happy if she is happy.
Markita has been playing basketball since age five, since ‘Speedy basketball’
down at the Salvation Army. She has a stubbornness that she uses to achieve her
goals. Going to UW-Milwaukee will be a good fit for her, its close to home and
it’s a good school.”
Freshman Shel’si Weaver, who has played with Barnes on the
Purple Knights of Beloit Memorial as well as IVCC, said, “I’m really happy for
her. I think it’s a good opportunity and I hope she gets to play some.”