BAR HARBOR – She spent four years playing varsity basketball in Mount Desert Island High School’s Bernard Parady Gymnasium, but former Trojans star Bracey Barker was just there to watch from the stands Friday night.

Barker, who graduated from the University of Maine last May after a stellar four-year career, saw her brother Brent coach the MDI girls team to a 45-43 win over Ellsworth.

For Bracey Barker, who is now playing professional basketball in Germany, the game was a rare opportunity for her to watch her brother in action and catch up with old friends during her holiday break.

Barker plays for New Basket Oberhausen, a Damen Basketball Bundesliga (DBBL) team located in the western part of Germany, not far from the Netherlands border and close to the German city of Dusseldorf.

Fellow former UMaine standout Heather Ernest of Temple is one of her teammates, and the two have teamed up to make Oberhausen one of the top teams in the country.

Oberhausen occupies second place in the league standings with a 14-4 record. The team has won eight games in a row – six straight in the DBBL and two in Europe Cup play, which pits the top teams in the continent against each other.

Forward-center Ernest and forward Barker are both starting and have become big contributors. In Oberhausen’s final game before the holiday break, a 108-72 win over Herner TC, Ernest recorded 31 points and 10 rebounds while Barker scored 28 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists.

“It’s easy to know someone,” Barker said, “especially when you grow up in the same area, you have some of the same coaches, you play similar [games], you know what the other one is thinking, what they were taught, what they’re going to do. So it helps me as a player and I think we work well together.”

Barker said although she and Ernest make a good combination, the team has been successful because of the presence of two members of the German national team.

“On our team, everyone can score and everyone works hard,” she said. “You have to give the German girls credit. We’re one of the only teams to have all Germans and two Americans.”

The league plays one game per week, every Saturday. Europe Cup games are Wednesdays. The team practices five days per week, with Wednesdays and Sundays off.

Playoffs start at the end of March.

Although it’s not an easy life – there is a lot of down time but Barker is just starting to learn German and hasn’t had much of a chance to travel on her own – the opportunity to continue her basketball career is enough to keep her there.

“It’s different,” she said. “The whole language thing is very different, but everyone has been very open, very helpful. My coaches and teammates have been great, but it is hard. You can’t order what you want, for example. But I like it.”

Barker does, however, live about one mile from the biggest mall in Germany, where she spends some time and money, she said with a smile. Barker declined to give the terms of her one-year contract.

The Oberhausen coaches learned of Barker through Ernest, who was one of DBBL scoring leaders last year for BG 74 Goettingen. She averaged 18.9 points per game and was the league’s third-leading rebounder (9.7 rpg) during the 2006-07 season, which was her third in the DBBL.

Ernest signed with Oberhausen earlier this year and mentioned Barker to the team’s coaches.

“They didn’t know very much about me but they had some of my tapes,” Barker said. “They asked [Ernest] about me. She put in a good word, so that was a big help.”

Several former Black Bears are playing in Europe. Barker said her UMaine classmate Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa is in Poland. Ashley Underwood and Katie Whittier, who also graduated last year, were playing in Switzerland but are now home, Barker added.

Barker and Ernest got a pleasant surprise about a month ago, when Barker noticed Missy Traversi, a former UMaine standout who now plays for the Norrkoping team in Sweden, in the building to watch her former Black Bear teammates.

“She was in the area with her boyfriend,” Barker said. “All of a sudden I looked underneath the basket and there they were. It was crazy.”

It has been easy for Barker to follow the Black Bears through the school Web site, www.goblackbears.com. She went to Orono one morning last week for breakfast with some of the players.

Barker said she got the impression the Bears are excited to have new coach Cindy Blodgett, who herself spent several seasons playing in France.

“I think it’s great for them,” Barker said. “They seem to love her. She’s been pushing them and trying to make them better. It’s hard when you lose five starters. They’ll be OK.”

Barker and Ernest have a number of other links. They were both named Miss Maine Basketball in their high school senior seasons, Ernest in 2000 and Barker in 2003. Both were first-team BDN All-Maine players in high school and led their teams to multiple state championships.

Ernest was a senior during Barker’s freshman year at UMaine.

Ernest was a two-time America East Player of the Year and Barker was an all-conference player who finished her career as the leading free-throw shooter in UMaine history. She led the nation last season with her 92 percent free-throw shooting.

Barker will be back in Maine next summer for her regular job as a waitress at the Chart Room restaurant in Bar Harbor.

After that, she’s unsure if she’ll return to Germany for a second season.

“The way things are going and how positive it is, that’s an option,” she said. “But I’m not sure yet. I know I couldn’t give it up right now.”

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

990-8193