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November 16, 2005
Show 'em the way, Jose?; Barea, NU set
for CAA debut (By Rich Thompson)
Is the
CAA ready for JJB?
The Colonial
Athletic Association is about to be
introduced to Jose Juan Barea and the
dynamic senior point guard's Northeastern
teammates.
Having
been a two-time America East first-teamer,
Barea will make a run at the CAA's elite
with his skill, experience and command
of coach Ron Everhart's system.
"Jose
has had three great years since he came
in here as a freshman,'' Everhart said.
"He's had things that have gone
very well for him and some things that
have not gone very well. But all in
all, nobody could ever argue he didn't
leave everything he had on the floor.''
Last season,
Barea was No. 8 in the nation in scoring
(22.2 ppg) and fifth with 218 assists,
the latter number staggering considering
he is the Huskies' first option with
the ball. Barea put up 30 points six
times and had a career-high 41 against
Stony Brook in the America East tournament
while under the scrutiny of NBA and
international scouts.
"I
think he's at the level where he is
a senior point guard leader,'' Everhart
said. "But this season he's going
to have to step up and show how mature
he's become, how good he can run a basketball
team and how he can score.''
Barea can
bury an NBA trey, drive the lane and
dish down low to the Huskies' twin towers,
junior Bennet Davis and sophomore Shawn
James. Barea has averaged 20 points,
3.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists over 84
games (83 starts) at NU. By season's
end he'll be at or near the top of every
significant school record.
"As
a compliment to Jose, he doesn't even
think of that kind of stuff,'' Everhart
said. "Some people might take this
the wrong way, but Jose has always been
a simple-minded guy in terms of, he
doesn't try to overthink things. Pressure
doesn't affect him - there's no such
word in his vocabulary.
"So
I really don't think he has any idea
where he is or how close he is to certain
records and things like that.''
The Huskies
lost 2-guard Marcus Barnes (15.9 ppg)
to graduation, but Everhart said this
may be the deepest Huskies team in his
five seasons.
Aaron Davis,
who has battled a laundry list of injuries,
will play the 2-guard and could split
playing time with Dedham's Bobby Kelly,
an athletic junior who runs the floor
and crashes the boards. Juniors Adrian
Martinez and Dipo Popoola have game
experience and will compete with newcomers
Matt Smith, Chris Brickley, Chris Cyprian
and Jason Heard.
Last season,
James emerged as an intimidating inside
presence on both ends of the floor.
He averaged 10.3 points, 7.6 rebounds
and 5.4 blocks a game and became the
first player in NU history to record
a triple-double.
Meanwhile,
Davis started 29 games and averaged
8.0 points and 6.4 rebounds. Janon Cole
and Jeff Farmer add depth at forward,
while Mark Washington and 6-foot-10
freshman Benson Egemonye will be the
centers.
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