Pack in the Pros
Where Are They Now?: Cat Barber
Back when we started this site 13 years ago, when it was a little blog called WolfpackHoops, we had an ongoing series called “Where are They Now,”, and I’m feeling nostalgic.
So I’m bringing it back.
Where the heck is Anthony “Cat” Barber these days?
Glad you asked.
Barber arrived at NC State as a McDonald’s All-American, who turned down offers from the likes of Kansas, UCONN and Louisville to run with the Wolfpack. A consensus 4-star recruit, was ranked as the #25 overall player in the 2013 class, and the #1 player in the state of Virginia, playing his high school ball at Hampton High School (Hampton, VA). To date, Barber is the 9th highest rated recruit to commit to NC State according to the 247Sports database.
As a Junior, Barber earned 1st Team All-ACC honors after leading the ACC in scoring (23.5). He decided not to return for his Senior season, and entered his name in the NBA Draft, but didn’t hear it called.
In 2016-17, Barber played in the G-League with the Delaware Blue Coats and the Greensboro Swarm, averaging 16.4 points and 4.7 assists in 40 combined games.
In Cat’s 2nd year as a professional (2017-18), he played for the Swarm in the G-League again, averaging 16.9 points and 4.5 assists in 29 games, but it would also be his first year playing professionally across the pond. Barber played 7 games in Italy for Happy Casa Brindisi, averaging 10.4 points, and he also played 10 games in Israel for Ironi Nahariya, averaging 14.7 points.
In 2018-19, he once again played in the G-League, playing 27 games with Greensboro (3rd straight year), and 14 games with the Erie BayHawks, averaging 14.5 points and 5 assists between the two squads. That same year he jumped across the pond again, playing 10 games once again for Ironi Nahariya in Israel, averaging 16.9 points.
In year 4, Barber stayed stateside the whole year, playing 39 games for the College Park Skyhawks, averaging 16.9 points and 5.9 assists.
In 2020-21, Cat only played 9 games professionally, this time in Germany for Syntainics MBC, averaging 8.7 points per game.
Year 6 proved to be a monumental year for Barber, because it would mark the one time in his professional career he actually made it to the NBA, though it was only for three games with the Atlanta Hawks. Even though he only played three games in the NBA, he put together his best season in the G-League to date, averaging 22.8 points and 7.9 assists per game in his second stint with the Skyhawks, earning All NBA G-League 2nd Team honors. Barber also crossed the border, playing 18 games for the Guelph Nighthawks in Canada, averaging 19.6 points and 5.2 assists.
Where will Cat be in Year 7 of professional basketball?
Cat is headed overseas to suit up for Ukranian team BC Budivelnyk as they prepare for FIBA’s Basketball Champions League Qualifiers, which kick off on September 21st.