Siblings Blake and Lauren Barker and their father Lance all share one common bond together as a family — basketball.
The trio spend countless hours talking, practicing and playing basketball together.
Blake, a senior at Columbus North, and Lauren, a sophomore at North, are starters for the boys and girls basketball teams. Lance, an Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, was a former standout basketball player at Columbus East and is now an assistant coach for the North boys team.
Lance, who graduated from East in 1991 and was named to the Hall of Fame’s Silver Anniversary Team, is still the city’s all-time scoring leader with 1,751 points. Following high school, he continued his basketball career in college at Valparaiso.
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Once Blake, who is North’s second all-time leading scorer, and Lauren started playing basketball, there was always the thought of having a target on their backs to live up to the expectations of their father.
Lance said they’ve handled the pressure really well.
“For me, that was a dream come true because that’s what I love to do. To be put in with the best of the best in the Hall of Fame is a dream come true for me,” Lance said. “Having said that, for Blake and Lauren, that puts a bullseye on their back, and they’ve handled that very well. What I have told them is, my resume is not their resume. They’ve taken from that and done really well with it.”
Lance introduced Blake and Lauren to basketball at a very young age. Whether it was a Little Tikes goal or one of the goals that is hung on the back of a door, Blake recalls in his early childhood just holding a basketball in his hands. Lauren recalls herself and Blake practicing and shooting the basketball together as kids.
“We love the sport. We love talking about it. We love watching it together,” Lauren said. “I learned a lot from them, and they taught me so much.”
Lance saw signs that Blake and Lauren wanted to become great basketball players. Lance was glad to help them along the way, but it was up to them to put in the time and work to hone their skills.
“With Blake, he saw the picture early. He had a dream early, and I said, ‘Blake, I can give you the tools, I can help you in a lot of ways, but some of the stuff you’re going to have to do on your own.’ He just took off with it, and his work ethic kicked in and things really started to click,” Lance said. “With Lauren coming along, she came in one day and said, ‘I want to shoot like Blake,’ and I said, ‘Lauren, Blake has put the time in and you haven’t.’ After that conversation, she started to put the time in and started reaping the rewards of it. It was one of those things that took off from there.”
Blake and Lauren got their first taste of the game when they both began playing basketball at First Christian Church. When Blake was in sixth grade, he was faced with a decision: play travel basketball or travel baseball. Lance introduced Blake to baseball about the same time as basketball, but with the travel seasons intertwining together, Blake decided to focus his time on basketball.
Lance recalled being in a similar situation as Blake when he was faced with the decision of committing to one sport. Lance excelled on the hardwood and on the diamond, but following his freshman year of high school, he decided to stick to his passion of basketball.
Blake began playing AAU basketball and won a national championship with a team where one of the assistant coaches was Indiana legend Damon Bailey.
Seeing her brother have success in AAU, Lauren decided to give it a shot. Lauren has played the last three seasons of AAU with the Indy Gym Rats. Before that, she played on the Columbus Comets team that was coached by North girls assistant coaches Ron Patberg and RaNae Isaak.
Blake and Lauren both enrolled at Columbus Christian School from kindergarten through the sixth grade before Lauren began playing varsity there in fifth grade. Since Columbus Christian isn’t an Indiana High School Athletic Association-affiliated school, Lauren was free to play high school varsity basketball as a fifth-grader.
“It was nice getting that experience with older girls,” Lauren said. “It was fun, and I learned a lot all throughout, so I think that’s definitely helped me.”
Blake and Lauren went to Northside following their respective sixth grade years at Columbus Christian. After finishing eighth grade and being the youngest in his class, Blake, who had an early start to his schooling, redid the eighth grade and went back to Columbus Christian to play for the Crusaders.
While Columbus Christian doesn’t play the type of schedule and competition that the Barkers are used to playing at North, it did give them a good insight into varsity basketball.
“It was great, and it helped me,” Blake said. “It was really fun to play against older kids and always playing with a chip on my shoulder just because I knew I was the youngest, and I knew kids that knew I was the youngest. I knew they would come after me. It was a great experience. The kids on that Columbus Christian team really accepted me, and I just had a great experience playing for coach (Kevin) Roth and playing against the older kids was a lot of fun.”
Lance said the best words to describe himself and his son and daughter on and off the basketball court are “ultra competitive.” Since playing one-one-one really didn’t work, Blake and Lauren played typical basketball shooting games. In the process, a sibling rivalry was born.
“If one of us beats each other, we’re going to let the other one know,” Blake said. “We’re going to let them know up until the point they beat us. It’s bragging rights up until that point.”
Lance even admits the competitiveness the family has in each other is undeniable. He recalled a story when the family went on vacation and went to a miniature golf course. While he didn’t say who the loser was that day, he said that person wouldn’t talk for a couple days.
That competitiveness stays in their blood even when playing recreational games like miniature golf, or even board games and card games.
“In some regards, we laugh a lot, but as a family, we can’t hardly do anything like that together,” Lance said with a laugh. “When I see them play and what they do and how competitive they are, that reminds me a lot of me because I was ultra competitive. We’re fine as a group, but as soon as we keep score on something, it’s on all-out war. It’s good and bad, but it’s how we’re wired.”
Regardless of how competitive Blake and Lauren are toward each other, they’re also each other’s biggest supporters.
They would show up to games to cheer on the other. Following the game, they would critique one another and advise each other how to improve for the next game. They’ll even watch film as a family to break down certain points or skills they need to work on.
Blake and Lauren both admitted that their father is one of the smartest and most knowledgeable persons they know in basketball. Lauren said Lance won’t sugarcoat anything and would give her and her brother honest feedback. It’s a way for all of them to bring out the best in each other and learn from one another.
“That’s what makes me and Blake the passionate players that we are to this day because we know that he is going to get on to us because he wants us to be the best we can be,” Lauren said. “He’s going to criticize, but also be there to encourage. We’re all dialed into each other. We don’t stray away. We’re there to help each other and we’re always supporting each other. I’m very glad to have them in my family. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. They really do help.”
Blake takes the time to help teach Lauren all he knows about basketball and enjoys sharing as much knowledge to her along the way.
“I know that me being an older brother can also be a mentor to her. We’ve done workouts together ever since we’ve been young,” Blake said. “I think her being able to watch me play, and then me being able to talk to her after her games and walk her through certain things. I think being able to share my knowledge with her has really allowed for her to grow in basketball a lot quicker than some kids that wouldn’t have an older sibling teaching them and helping them.”
Lauren is a dual-sport athlete, playing soccer in the fall. She played a big role in helping the Bull Dogs reach the final four in Class 3A last fall.
Lauren said if she had the opportunity to play both sports in college, she would consider it. She also added that she’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for her.
For Blake, he will follow his father’s footsteps and continue his basketball career in college. Those days of getting up between 4:30 and 5 a.m. to shoot and work out before school has paid off. He’ll be attending Army West Point next year.
Lance is excited to see his children grow up playing the game that he loved in his youth.
“I love being in the gym, and I love basketball. It’s my passion,” Lance said. “For them to be out there playing, enjoying and being able to be part of something and watch is icing on the cake. It’s been really good.”
Blake added, “My dad loves watching us. He doesn’t miss our games at all. He loves teaching us sometimes with tough love and sometimes with that competitive edge he has. He’s made us who we are today, and we wouldn’t be anywhere close to where we are today without him.”
