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Barbara Farris 2021-22

Barbara Farris

NOLA.com article

Ten-year WNBA veteran and five-time state champion high school coach Barbara Farris is in her second season as an assistant coach at Stetson University.  

Farris comes to Stetson from John Curtis Christian School in New Orleans, where she coached the Lady Patriots to five LHSAA state championships, including four in a row from 2017-20. Over a span of 10 seasons, Farris posted a career mark of 279-54 and developed 15 collegiate scholarship athletes, including Gatorade Louisiana Player of the Year and Louisiana Miss Basketball honoree JerKaila Jordan.

During this time, Farris also had two coaching stints in the WNBA. She served as an assistant coach for the New York Liberty from 2012-14 and again from 2018-19.  

Farris’ professional playing career began in 1998 when she was selected by the New England Blizzard of the American Basketball League with the third overall pick in the draft. She averaged over seven points and five rebounds per game in 13 games.

From there, Farris began a successful 10-year WNBA career with Detroit in 2000. She spent six seasons with the Shock and helped her team win the 2003 WNBA Championship under coach Bill Laimbeer. She then played two seasons with the New York Liberty and one year with the Phoenix Mercury before returning to Detroit for her final season in 2009.

From 2000-08, Farris also played for various FIBA and international club teams in France, Spain, Turkey, Greece, and South Korea.

Her first coaching job came at Bonnabel High in 2009 before moving on to John Curtis in 2010.

A WBCA All-American forward at Tulane University, Farris averaged 14.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in her career and became the Green Wave’s first four-time all-conference selection. She helped lead Tulane to four NCAA Tournament berths and a conference championship in 1997. She graduated with a degree in Sociology in 1998 and was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.

Farris finished her collegiate career with over 1700 points and 900 rebounds. She still holds the single-season and career records for both Tulane and C-USA for highest field goal pct., and she still ranks in the top six all-time Green Wave players in scoring and rebounding.

Farris won two high school state championships as a player at St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Metairie, La. She was inducted into the St. Martin’s Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011, and then again in 2015 as part of the first undefeated Girls Basketball State Championship team (36-0, 1993). She also helped St. Martin’s win two state titles in Track and Field, where she competed in the shotput and discus.

Farris was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.