Joe Barber's One Missed Shot Leads to Future Goals On and Off the Court

By Mike Gore

Joe Barber will always be remembered as part of one of UNC Asheville's most memorable basketball teams. He was a starter on the 2002-03 team that won the Big South Conference championship in dramatic fashion and was on the first Bulldog team that ever advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Joe accomplished a lot while with the Bulldogs during his career. This past spring he accomplished one more thing that he knew would make his coach – Eddie Biedenbach – happy. He graduated with a degree in history.

Joe's journey to Asheville began in the summer of 2000 thanks to an airball. Well that's the way Coach Biedenbach remembers it according to Barber.

"I was playing in the Raleigh Roundball Classic in the summer and the way Coach Biedenbach tells the story was that I shot an airball but he liked my stroke and the way I shot the ball," said Barber. "I don't quite remember it that way but Coach B was insistent it happened that way."

"Things moved pretty quickly after the airball," added Barber. "I came up for a visit a few weeks later and committed a short time after that. The campus was beautiful and I really looked forward to playing for Coach Biedenbach."

Joe was a key player for the Bulldogs off the bench as a freshman in the 2001-02 season and helped Asheville recover from a 1-11 start to win a share of the Big South regular-season crown. He moved into the starting lineup in the 2002-03 season and had a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic seasons in school history.

The Bulldogs were the preseason favorites to win the Big South but ended up finishing in fifth place during the regular-season. But two dramatic overtime wins in the conference tournament and then a dominating performance in the championship game against Radford put the Dogs in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Joe remembers the dramatic 81-80 overtime win over defending champ Winthrop in the semifinals quite fondly. Alex Kragel's last-second shot sent the Bulldogs into the finals.

"I will never forget Alex's shot against Winthrop that put us into the finals," stated Barber. "I can still see that shot to this day. I remember running off the bench to celebrate plus watching it on replay that night on ESPN."

"We felt pretty good after beating Winthrop that we would beat Radford for the championship," he added. "We had come too far to lose the title game and we played so well that next day. I still see some of those Radford guys from time-to-time and I don't mind reminding them about who won that game that day."

There was more excitement when the Bulldogs went to the NCAA Tournament. Asheville outlasted Texas Southern 92-84 in overtime in the Opening Round game at Dayton Arena.

"It was so exciting to play in the NCAA Tournament. I remember winning that game against Texas Southern and back at the hotel we were ushered into a room at the top of the hotel and all this food kept coming out for us. What an incredible experience!"

Joe would only play part of the 2003-04 season as a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the campaign.

He would be a solid starter for the Bulldogs the next two seasons as he finished up his collegiate career in the 2005-06 season. Joe wasn't through playing as he got a chance to play pro ball the next five years.

"The first place I played was in Uruguay and then I played in Finland, Japan, England and Switzerland," said Barber.

"For a kid from the eastern part of North Carolina, it was an amazing experience to play overseas," added Barber. "I remember flying to Uruguay. That was the first time I had ever been out of the country."

He enjoyed playing in England except for the driving.

"They drive on the wrong side of the road over there! And most of the cars are stick shifts so I never really enjoyed driving in England," he joked.

After a five-year career of playing, he would eventually come back to Asheville. Joe would get married to Spencer Gilreath and the couple would have one daughter and one son, named Stella and Flynn.

However, there was one thing he knew he needed to do and that was to complete his degree. When his career was over, he was still a few hours short of graduating.

"In the back of my mind, I knew I needed to finish what I started with graduating," explained Barber. "I also knew Coach Biedenbach was going to keep asking me about it until I got it done."

"When Covid happened, I decided to dip my toe into going back to school and finishing my degree," said Barber. "Once I started back, I was determined to get to the finish line this time."

He was on his way to his final class before graduating when he took his phone out to make a call.

"I called Coach Biedenbach. I told him I was on my way to my final class and I was going to graduate," said Barber. "He told me he was proud of me and no matter how old you are it's always good to have Coach B telling you how proud he is of you. It felt very good to make that phone call."

Joe may have been one of the older graduates last May but it still had him and his family bursting with pride.

"What a great day. Out on the quad, getting my degree with my family there. It was a gorgeous day and something I'll never forget," said Barber. "It may have taken me a little longer but I'm proud to say that I am a graduate of UNC Asheville."

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Joe Barber's One Missed Shot Leads to Future Goals On and Off the Court

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