ATHENS, Ga. — On Feb. 6, Sarah Ashlee Barker suited up in a pink Georgia uniform for the team’s annual ‘Play 4 Kay’ cancer awareness game. That afternoon marked the one-year of her grandmother’s beloved passing.

She wrote the word “NONIE” and the date “2-6-21” near the sole of each Nike shoe. She took the floor not only thinking of beloved Phyllis DiGiovanna’s memory, but those affiliated with the program worn across her chest and how they supported her through those times.

Barker had her head coach, Joni Taylor, as the rock of support through early February of last year. She learned of Nonie’s passing before a game at Alabama, and Taylor allowed Barker to lean on her. Barker crashed into her arms and wept.

Shortly thereafter, Taylor allowed Barker — an important bench piece of Georgia’s rotation at the time — to leave the team and return to her hometown of Birmingham, Ala. so the team could mourn DiGiovanna’s death.

“I knew I was loved,” Barker said of her coach when recalling those memories.

Taylor became a mother figure to Barker and her teammates. She never wavered in care, love or a people-first approach. She made everyone who suited up as a Lady Bulldog feel as if they were at home.

“Coach Joni is everything to us,” senior guard Mikayla Coombs said. “Being able to play for her is always just a blessing. I mean, we go out and play our hearts out for her every day.”

Suddenly, in Athens, that’s gone. A new era began in an instant after Taylor finished her seventh season at Georgia’s helm with a second-round exit to Iowa State.

Taylor, as announced on Wednesday morning and first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, accepted the head coaching position at Texas A&M to replace retired legendary coach Gary Blair.

After Georgia’s loss to Iowa State, Taylor said she “couldn’t be happier” with the state of the program and what the Lady Bulldogs were building. But money and opportunity talks, and it showed the business side of college basketball. Taylor had dreams that she and her husband Darius would be tied to Georgia for life, but that has now shifted elsewhere.

Sophomore guard Sarah Ashlee Barker announced she would enter the transfer portal and find a new home. Multiple sources first told The Lady Bulldogs Report of Barker’s entry before a 4:15 p.m. announcement.

“This program, university and Athens have given me more opportunities than I could ever dream of,” Barker said in a released statement. “I hope to one day be half the woman (Joni is). I am open to all options and looking forward to what the future holds.”

Taylor’s decision can be put quite simply: It’s more about the people you surround yourself with than the university tied to your position. For Barker, it’s easy to understand why she chose to leave Georgia for a similar reason. She was recruited by Taylor and her staff. She came on board to not only wear the Georgia uniform, but more-so to play for the coaches she has cherished.

From the moment a recruiting process began, all players and signees can trace their decision to come to Georgia back to Taylor. They don’t want to pass up the qualities she preaches and shows, nor do they want to refuse an opportunity to play within the culture she has built.

Now, with all of those people gone, it makes sense for a player closely tied to her coach to reset and choose another program.

Barker made it clear throughout her two years. She plays for three people: her mother, Nonie and Taylor. They’re the core of all of her basketball passions. Barker never felt right playing for someone else when making the original choice.

After her crazy game-tying shot at NC State, she sat down with this reporter for a lengthy phone interview. We broke down the nuances of the play that eventually sent Georgia to an 82-80 win over a top-ranked team, then Barker stopped in the middle of the conversation.

“Hey, just know,” Barker said. “We all do this for coach Joni.”

Under the postseason’s brightest lights, Barker finished her sophomore season in Ames, Iowa for the NCAA tournament. She got her first taste of the stage after missing out on the tournament a year ago. A topic of conversation became staff continuity as Taylor had the same staff on board for each of her seven seasons at Georgia.

It gave Barker the opportunity to, yet again, voice a genuine adoration for her leader.

“To be able to have a head coach who cares about you so much on or off the court, it truly brings your team together,” Barker said Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. “When she steps onto the court, she's your coach, but when she steps off, you can go into her office and talk to her about anything.

“That's with every single coach on this team. That's with this program. That's what they've built here. And I think having that foundation makes it so easy. When things are not going right, you just say, ‘Look, we're going to stay together, and that's what's going to get us through.’”

In Barker’s every moment of stardom to struggle at Georgia, she honored Taylor. Without her head coach on the sidelines at Georgia, a young talent saw need for a new start.