New bleachers are in, now we need a new name for the CHS basketball court. (Scott Losey photo)
Zenovia Barron (Photo courtesy Devyn Barron Nixon)
Coupeville High School has never been in a hurry to name its athletic fields or buildings after people.
Some towns, they go wild.
In Cow Town, we take our sweet time.
Unless I’m missing something, the only sports-related areas at the school named in memory of people are the football field, named for local historian Mickey Clark, and the baseball field, named for Robert W. Sherman.
If you know Sherman was a 16-year-old Wolf baseball player who died in 1954 after being hit by a pitch in a game, you’re one of about three people.
Both honors are well-deserved, even if few modern-day fans have any clue who either man was.
What I propose is we welcome a third member to this exclusive group.
I challenge the Coupeville School Board to step up and name the CHS basketball court in memory of Zenovia Barron.
And to do it in time for a dedication before or during the next basketball season.
Novi, and there is no argument on this point, was the best hoops player, girl or boy, to ever pull on a Wolf jersey.
End of story.
In the words of her coach, Willie Smith:
“Dynamic, electrifying, amazing, once in a lifetime talent. Those are some of the words I’d use to describe 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.
My kids loved her, her little girls basketball teams loved her, and her teammates loved and respected her.”
Novi was also one of the few CHS athletic stars who went on to make a truly notable impact playing college sports.
Her name still appears six times in the record book at the College of Southern Idaho.
She is 5th all-time in CSI womens’ basketball history for assists per game (3.7) and 10th all-time for career free throw percentage (.753).
Barron still owns the sixth-best single-season performance in program history for both steals (90) and assists (130) and remains tied for the best-ever single game effort at the charity stripe, hitting all six of her free throws Jan 8, 1999 against the College of Eastern Utah.
When she left the Eagles, her nine steals in one game — March 5, 1999 against Utah Valley State College — stood as the school record.
It wasn’t until 2005 that she was edged out by a 10-steal performance, but Novi remains 2nd in school history.
Last year, when the Coupeville girls’ hoops squad claimed its first league title in 13 years, rolling through the 1A Olympic League like a buzz-saw, it would have been beautiful if Zenovia could have been in the stands like former Wolf teammates like Tina (Lyness) Joiner and Ashley (Ellsworth-Bagby) Heilig.
As we all marvel at Makana Stone, our current hoops sensation, it would have been interesting to see what the GOAT would have made of one of the few who have made a legitimate run at her legacy.
But, it’s not to be.
Zenovia left too early, and her unexpected death, at age 24 in 2003, deeply affected everyone who knew her, who loved her, who were dazzled by her play and her soaring spirit.
But, while she can’t be there in person, Miss Barron can be there in spirit as Makana leads the defending champs onto the floor this winter.
When the pre-game music kicks in and T.I. implores local fans to “Bring ’em out, bring ’em out,” the modern-day Wolves should charge onto a court named for the transcendent young woman who showed us all how high Coupeville players can fly.
It is time. It is right.
When the announcer picks up the mic, this is what I want to hear: “Ladies and gentlemen, and hoops fans of all ages, welcome to Zenovia Barron Court!”
Agree? Jump over and sign our petition, then share it on Facebook and Twitter. The more signatures, the bigger the impact when we take this to the School Board.
https://www.change.org/p/coupeville-school-board-name-the-chs-basketball-court-for-zenovia-barron
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