JB Trib Star Read

[SycamoreStateofMind]

https://www.tribstar.com/sports/loca...bdf1914b8.html

A few thoughts to generate some conversation...

I don't think that Lansing can afford to ride JB the way he did last season through another 20% conference shooting drought. He/Lansing didn't have a lot of other options - but he has other options this year. I'm glad to see them both acknowledging that Barnes has to be come a better passer and better defender for his game to take that next step. We will see pretty quickly if that is just lip service or if they intend for him to actually be a pass first player. For me - I think that will require a lot of focus and attention to detail that I'm not sure Barnes is capable of. Having watched him for 3 years now - I see him always looking for opportunities to let it fly (that's fine scorers look to score) and not all that often looking for ways to get others involved or looking for the hot hand.

My 3 keys for JB:

- Take better care of the ball. This wasn't mentioned but he's not always making sound decisions.

- Pass first.

- Defense. Defense. Defense.

[Bluethunder]

First, it was a typical Todd Golden article in that it had many phrases that were too cute by half, as well as typos that went uncorrected.

Second, I think of all the players mentioned that can take some pressure off Barnes, Cam is the most important. If Cam can play the point where Barnes doesn't have to have the ball in his hands so much and can come off screens, catch and shoot, etc it will help everyone.

I don't think Barnes is a true point guard and it's pretty late in his career to turn him into one. Having Bacote take that job and makes Barnes less responsible for handling and distributing the ball would be a big plus.

[Jason Svoboda]

Honestly, having read it, it makes me feel like they may be laying the ground work for a 4 guard lineup with Barnes at the "2" and Williams at the "4".

Or, if you get enough production from what bigs you have, you could just run hockey shifts once you find the right groupings.

[TreeTop]

Honestly, having read it, it makes me feel like they may be laying the ground work for a 4 guard lineup with Barnes at the "2" and Williams at the "4".

I don't know, here's the quote from Lansing:

"He has to be a point guard and more of a true point guard. He can really make shots and score it, but his advancement as a player is as more of a pass-first point guard. I use Fred VanVleet as an example when he and I have talked about it,” Lansing said.

Sounds like Barnes will be running the show whenever he's on the court. I'd rather seen him at the 2.

[sycamorebacker]

My question is how good would Williams be at the point? As far as JB playing the 2, he can't because of Key and Neese.

[Jason Svoboda]

My question is how good would Williams be at the point? As far as JB playing the 2, he can't because of Key and Neese.

He ran it plenty last year. Not interested in watching it again.

[sycamorebacker]

He ran it plenty last year. Not interested in watching it again.

Well, if he is going to play forward, I hope he can be more consistent on his rebounding.

[BrokerZ]

I'm not sure I totally agree with Golden's statement that Barnes "re-focused on being a distributor" the second half of the conference season last year.

He did increase his assists and limit his turnovers slightly better than the first half, but it wasn't noticeably different. He basically averaged one more assist per game in the last 9 regular season games and our 1 tournament game than he did in the first half (3.2 versus 1.9). He did have a positive assist to turnover ratio in the second half, which was an improvement, but he has a loooong way to go before I would consider him a distributor.

Barnes has to really make some changes this year to be back to All-MVC. Based on the article, I'm not sure he's completely self-aware about what he needs to do.

[sycamorebacker]

I'm not sure I totally agree with Golden's statement that Barnes "re-focused on being a distributor" the second half of the conference season last year.

He did increase his assists and limit his turnovers slightly better than the first half, but it wasn't noticeably different. He basically averaged one more assist per game in the last 9 regular season games and our 1 tournament game than he did in the first half (3.2 versus 1.9). He did have a positive assist to turnover ratio in the second half, which was an improvement, but he has a loooong way to go before I would consider him a distributor.

Barnes has to really make some changes this year to be back to All-MVC. Based on the article, I'm not sure he's completely self-aware about what he needs to do.

I’m not worried at all. He has plenty of skills to help us.

[HOOPSFAN]

The quicker that Lansing & Barnes realize that Barnes is not the best Sycamore on the floor the more successful the team will be. They should have learned that last season during MVC play. It won't be any easier this time around.