Like many seniors, Greeba Barlow has high expectations for her last year at St. John’s. The 5-foot-10 guard is hoping to make her final year on the basketball team her most successful one.
Barlow had an impressive career before coming to St. John’s. During her high school years in Columbia, Md., she was a member of the Adidas Top 10 All-Star team.
Then she attended George Washington University, where she played in 30 of 31 games and participated in the 2003 NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds.
She was also a member of the 2003 Atlantic 10 Championship team before she decided that she needed a change. She felt that being in the Big East would provide her with more of a challenge, which was something she welcomed.
“I felt I needed a new start,” Barlow said.
She transferred to St. John’s and sat out the 2003-04 season to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements.
St. John’s has a different dynamic than George Washington, and Barlow likes being part of the up and coming program.
“We had true seniors [at George Washington] that were there for four years. I had to prove myself,” she said. “Here, there is no set of players who have been here and can look after the freshmen. It’s not a set structure because they’re building the team.”
As a junior at St. John’s, Barlow appeared in 29 games and averaged 21.3 minutes, 8.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. On Feb. 6, 2005, she was named Big East Player of the Week, becoming the first St. John’s player to earn this distinction under coach Kim Barnes Arico’s direction.
She also appreciates the ambition that Barnes Arico demonstrates with the team.
“She’s a great person,” Barlow said. “She is trying to get the program to be a top Big East program.”
While Barlow considers her biggest strength to be in her shooting, she hopes to work this season to improve her defense and her own attitude toward the game.
“The challenge for me is myself,” Barlow said. “I have to overcome myself in the mental part.”
As a senior, Barlow is helping the team develop a closer relationship. She has become someone the younger players on the team can look up to.
“I think we have a good chemistry, but we’re working on it,” she said. “Eventually, it’s going to come together.”
Barlow hopes that if she performs well this season, she may have a chance to play for the WNBA or overseas in the future.
“I think she’s shown us she wants to be successful at St. John’s and in the Big East,” Barnes Arico said. “I think if she stays healthy, she can have a really successful senior year.”
