NC State Basketball
Cat Barber: Man of Mystery
NC State’s success hinges on the back of Barber more than any other player and he will have to become more consistent on both ends of the court, especially if State wants to go to a 5th straight NCAA Tournament. The past season was a roller coaster of a season for Barber who was benched at times and at other times instrumental on both ends to help the Pack knock off national powers in Louisville, Duke, and UNC.
This coming season Cat has to build upon the success he had at the end of last season and come out of the gates with an aggressive demeanor both offensively and in pressuring opposing guards in the backcourt. Personally I don’t think there are many players in the ACC that can keep Cat out of the lane when he has the ball in his hands. Attacking is what Cat does best and he must always look to score. Traditional point guard play goes out of the window with Barber as he has a score first mentality. I do not mean this as a bad thing, I think a point guard can be extremely effective with a score first mentality and even more dangerous in certain situation.
Look at the NBA many of the top point guards are unafraid to call their own number. In my opinion the number one responsibility for a point guard is to put his team in the best possible position to win. If that means Barber is our best option to score the ball then by all means that is what he should do. However I still believe that Cat showed flashes last season of comprehending when to shoot and when to pass. In order for him to take his game to the next level he has continue to improve on his decision making. There were too many times that he allowed the game to speed him up, which caused him to turn the ball over or forced him into a poor shot. I think that another year of experience and summer workouts will slow the game down even more for him. I think the best course of action for Barber is to keep things simple.
By keeping things simple I mean that he should first and foremost look to push the ball…make or miss. This will put him into the best positions to utilize his skill set which is to attack the rim and use his 10-12 foot pull up jumper. Cat showed last season that he is more than capable of scoring the basketball at a high rate and doing so efficiently. Just look at his breakout performances against GT, Wake Forest, Louisville, and Pittsburgh. These games showed that he has the ability to alter the ACC.
My bold prediction is that Cat is going to build upon the success he had towards the end of the season and use it to lead the Pack to a top 6 standing once the dust settles from ACC play. Not only will he improve in his decision making but he will play to his strengths and use his outstanding physical gifts to be the most dangerous scoring point guard in the ACC. Cat may be a man of mystery but I think the mystery this season will be a matter of just how good will he be?
What are your thoughts on Cat Barber? Will he catapult the Pack back the the big dance?
wulfpacker Wolfer96 Let me clarify since I did not make this clear before… I was not comparing the current All-Star NBA Chris Paul to Cat Barber. I was comparing the college Wake Forest player Chris Paul to Cat Barber. At the time, I don’t think anyone thought Chris would be one of the best PGs in the NBA. At least I didn’t. He was good but I didn’t think he would be great at the next level. Both PGs were highly ranked coming out of HS and both played in the ACC. I was just trying to illustrate the different types… Read more »
ncsu_kappa As you said Lacey and Ralston are gone so whether Cat is ready or not it’s going to be his team. Am I as optimistic as you or the writer of this article? No. Cat has to show me that he can play at a high level all season and not play up and down. I hope he does well but I am just basing my opinion on what I’ve seen from Cat. In 2 seasons he has played up and down each season. In season 1, he played himself into a starting role then lost it. In season… Read more »
Wolfer96 I agree that some things are instinctual, but he has some good instincts when it comes to finding gaps. I dont think he is Chris Paul at all. I think that is a tough to hold him to the same standards as a perennial NBA All Star point guard. Cat also has a lot of things you cannot teach…like speed and toughness. We will have to see if you can be more even keel this season.
wolfer Cat has shown flashes of brilliance when was a score first point guard. the points came in bunches and so did his assists and he didn’t turn the ball over much. With TJ leaving and Lacey and Ralston getting the majority of the shots I think it took him a little while to adjust and find where he was comfortable getting his shots. As this article points out, he demonstrated flashes last year, with Lacey and Ralston gone, the offense is his load to bear. I think the off season practices will give our team time to gel and… Read more »
I’ll reserve judgement but I’m not as optimistic. He doesn’t have the basketball IQ, court vision, or play making ability as someone like Chris Paul. Some of those things you can learn but certain instincts I feel like you either have them at this stage or you don’t. From a purely “feel for the game” perspective just look at TJ. He just understood the game at a higher level. He knew how to use his body, he had great poise and balance, and created plays at will. Same with Julius Hodge. Hodge just knew how to make things happen for… Read more »