These vintage photos capture the in-game intensity of Zenovia “Novi” Barron. (Photos courtesy Willie Smith)
The greatest of all time.
That’s a title that gets bandied about a lot, but in the case of Zenovia Barron, the argument is pretty solid.
She was the best basketball player we have ever seen in this town, and it is an honor to induct her into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, the lone member of our third induction class.
Novi passed too soon, taken from a world that adored her at the tender age of 24 on Nov. 3, 2003.
It is easy to be angry, to imagine everything she would have accomplished in the last 12 years, on and off the court.
But today, we put anger to the side and remember her for the amazing young woman she was during her time on Earth.
At this point, I’m handing the mic to Willie Smith, who coached Novi during her brilliant run as a Wolf hoops star.
Dynamic, electrifying, amazing, once in a lifetime talent. Those are some of the words I’d use to describe Novi.
She could walk into a room and light it up with her personality and energy; she could break an ankle on the court then go play drums for the boys like it was nobody’s business.
She could start the game by singing the National Anthem, then finish an opponent with an amazing display of basketball skills.
She is, without a doubt, the best basketball player, boy or girl, that I have ever seen come through Coupeville.
I have coached and witnessed some of the best basketball players in Coupeville.
Jen Canfield, Amanda Allmer, Ashley Bagby, Tina Lyness, Brianne King, Ann Pettit, Megan Smith, Makana Stone, Nick Sellgren, Pete Petrov, Rich Morris, Gavin Keohane, JD Wilcox, Hunter Hammer, Mike Bagby, Jason Bagby; you name the best basketball players in the last 23 years at Coupeville and none were better than Novi.
She had everything: she could drive, shoot the three, post up, play defense, rebound, dish the rock; whatever could be done on a court she could do it like it was second nature.
She was the most complete player I ever got to coach and I coached some good ones.
She had an innate ability to take over a game in every aspect of a game.
I’m not sure how many times she either won, secured, or tied a game on the free throw line in the fourth quarter, but it was a ton.
She was an All-League selection each of her four years at a time when we played in a VERY STRONG conference: the old Cascade Conference.
She averaged double figures each of her four years and also led the team in ASSISTS; no other player has done that since.
She shot over 45% from inside the arc EVERY year while averaging those double figures.
She formed one of the highest scoring tandems for three years with she and Ann Pettit.
Perhaps her best year was her junior year in the playoffs: we lost one starter and our sixth player right before the playoffs and entered the playoffs with eight girls on the team.
We finished fourth in our league and nobody expected us to do anything but fold and watch the boys go to state.
We faced Lynden Christian (#1 in State), Lakewood (#2 CC, 17 wins to our 9), Mount Baker, and King’s (#3 in State and eventual state champ over LC).
During those games Novi scored 20, 18, 23, and 19; she scored 12 points in the 4th quarter to Mt Baker’s seven to bring us back from a 38-31 deficit while also securing 12 boards.
She scored 18 against Lakewood while also setting up Pettit’s 28 and then helped us to a 12-0 start against King’s in the winner to state game before foul trouble took her out of the game early in the 2nd quarter.
She was offered a full ride scholarship to LC State in Lewiston, ID following a summer league game in which she ran off at halftime to throw up because she was sick.
The coaches were there to watch another girl, saw Novi, and called me that Monday to offer her the scholarship after watching ONE game; she was that electric.
I could go on and on about Novi and her basketball skills but what a lot people don’t know about her is how committed she was to our team and how caring she was.
Midway through her junior year, she really figured out what it meant to be a part of a team and how much more important it was to be a part of a team rather than THE team.
From that point, she matured, grew, and became an amazing team player.
My kids loved her, her little girls basketball teams loved her, and her teammates loved and respected her.
My heart still aches that she and I can’t sit here and go over all of this together, laughing most of the time and maybe being a bit emotional some of the time and I can’t even begin to understand how or why she is not here right now.
But I do know this, there has never been a brighter star, bigger personality, or better player than Novi in my 20+ years in Coupeville and her legacy, her impact on not just basketball but in Coupeville, will forever be around.
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