| Will Barton |
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| All Tweets | DraftExpress: RT @GaryParrishCBS: Memphis guard Will Barton will formally announce he's entering the NBA Draft today, a source told http://t.co/XoG8cLcv.
2012-03-22 04:32:29 | DraftExpress: RT @GaryParrishCBS: Pastner told @CBSSports he'd be "a little surprised" if Will Barton returns. Adonis Thomas' decision seems up in the ...
2012-03-20 08:15:10 | DraftExpress: Mason Plumlee, Austin Rivers, Will Barton, Mike Moser, Trey Burke, Adonis Thomas - all needed good March showings. Now have tough decisions.
2012-03-17 12:50:27 | DraftExpress: DX Trending Prospects 12/23. Updated Scouting Reports on Will Barton, LeBryan Nash, Ricardo Ratliffe http://t.co/gpVW469S
2011-12-23 04:16:15 | DraftExpress: A year of maturing has done Joe Jackson & Will Barton a world of good. Learning to slow down, read floor. No longer playing AAU basketball.
2011-11-15 02:55:43 |
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| Trending Prospects (12/23/2011)
December 23, 2011
 | | AP |
Walker Beeken
Although the Memphis Tigers are off to a disappointing 6-5 start, Will Barton looks to have made some very nice strides from his freshman to sophomore season. When we last wrote about Barton back in March, he was struggling with his decision-making and shot selection and seemingly having trouble adjusting to collegiate defenses. He's playing much more efficiently through eleven games this season, however, with improvements in his production across the board.
As we mentioned before, Barton has the size, length, and athleticism of a prototypical NBA wing, but at some point, he'll need to add some strength to his lanky frame if he's going to be able to compete against stronger, bulkier players at the NBA level.
Memphis has been playing at a very past face so far this season, and much of Barton's early success has been in transition, accounting for about a third of his used possessions. As we noted before, Barton excels in the open court thanks to his great speed with the ball is his hands or filling the lanes, and his very good body control, which he utilizes to find ways to finish at the rim.
Perhaps Barton's biggest improvement, though, has been with his shot selection, which we noted was very poor at times during his freshman season. About 60% of his shot attempts last season were jumpers, and he converted only 28% of them, as many of those shots were clearly ill-advised. So far this year, though, Barton has made much more of an effort to attack the basket and not settle, as only 31% of his shot attempts have come on jumpers. Not surprisingly, this has made him far more efficient, as his true shooting percentage has increased from 50% to a very solid 62%.
Barton's focus on attacking the basket has also led to him getting to the free throw line at a much higher rate. His handle could still use some tightening up, but he's utilizing his quick first step and rangy strides to get to the rim and is also more active on the offensive glass and with cuts in the basket area. His nine free throw attempts per-40 ranks him second amongst all wing prospects in our database. Despite this increased emphasis on getting to the basket, he's nearly cut his turnover rate in half from last season, which is quite impressive.
Defensively, Barton's athleticism, length, and lateral quickness bode well for his defensive transition to the NBA level, but scouts will likely be concerned with his slight frame and if he'll be able to matchup against some of the more physically imposing wings he'd face regularly. His activity level is plus, though, as he's really seemed to focus on this as a sophomore, as evidenced by his increases in his block, steal, and rebounding numbers. His rebounding improvement has been especially impressive for a player his size, as his 9.7 rebounds per forty minutes ranks him #1 among all wing prospects, an area where he was just average as a freshman.
Overall, the former top-10 recruit has gotten off to a very good start to his sophomore season, and seems to be learning how to better utilize his talents and play more efficient basketball. His game is very well suited to the up-tempo style at Memphis, but scouts may very well still have questions for how his game fits into an NBA offense in the half-court.
His decision making can still be shaky at times, his skinny frame may limit his ability as a finisher, and although he's shooting a respectable 35% from 3-point range early on this season, he still needs to prove he's capable of being a reliable perimeter shooter with his feet set. So while there are definitely signs of encouragement, it's still early in the season, and he still some question marks as well.
Scouts will surely be keeping an eye on Barton and his Memphis teammates throughout the Conference USA season, and if the Tigers can turn things around and play up to their potential, Barton will have the opportunity to showcase himself on the big stage in the NCAA tournament.
 [Read Full Article]
Trending Prospects (3/3/2011)
March 3, 2011
 | | AP |
Walker Beeken
As the ninth rated player in the Class of 2010 RSCI rankings, Will Barton came into his freshman year at Memphis as the leader of a highly touted recruited class for Coach Josh Pastner. So far this season, Barton has displayed the physical gifts and talent that make him an intriguing prospect, but he's also shown that he still has a ways to go in terms of refining his skill set and learning how to play efficient basketball.
It doesn't take long to notice Barton on the basketball court, as he looks the part of an NBA shooting guard prospect. Standing at 6'6” with long arms and a thin frame that should continue to fill out as he gets older and puts in time in the weight room, he also has the prototypical athleticism that scouts like to see with great speed, quickness, and elevation.
Much of what we've seen from Barton in his first season at Memphis is similar what we last wrote about him while at prep school. While he makes some spectacular plays on the offensive end and shows good shot-creating ability, he also has a tendency to force the issue, which makes him far less efficient than he's capable of being if he can learn to pick his spots.
At this stage, Barton shows flashes of becoming a decent shooter from the perimeter, but his shot selection can be absolutely terrible, as it seems he doesn't have any ability to differentiate between a good shot and a bad one.
He's scoring over a point per shot on catch-and-shoot jumpers so far this season, but his efficiency drops significantly to .56 points per shot off the dribble, which unfortunately make up over 40% of his jump-shot attempts. Barton is only making 28% on his 3-pointers, which illustrates how far he still is at this point from reaching his full potential as a shooter. His form looks fine with his feet set, so if he can tighten up his shot selection and put in the work to become more consistent, he projects to be at least a respectable perimeter shooter at some point down the road.
Barton is clearly most comfortable in a faster paced game when he can get out in transition. He has great speed with the ball in his hands or filling the lanes, and he's able to get to the basket and elevate to finish or dish off to a teammate on the break. He still struggles with his decision-making at times and throws sloppy passes and pulls up for unnecessary jumpers, but his talent is evident when he's in the open court.
In the halfcourt, Barton has the ability to get into the paint regularly off the dribble, utilizing his explosive first step and rangy strides, but his slashing game still lacks quite a bit of polish. He frequently has tunnel vision as he's driving to the basket, his handle is loose, and he too often bails out his defender by settling for jumpers. And while his underdeveloped frame prevents him from finishing around the basket at times, he does have good elevation, body control, and an array of shots at the rim that project well for him going forward.
Defensively, Barton shows quite a bit of promise, thanks to his excellent physical tools. He still needs to get stronger, but his combination of length and athleticism should enable him to be the type of player who could defend multiple positions, depending on the matchups. He puts a solid effort in, but isn't the smartest defender at this stage, often reaching and getting caught out of position, leading to him getting beat by his man. Increasing his focusing on this end of the floor on a consistent basis would really enhance his effectiveness.
When looking at Barton's NBA draft prospects, it's clear that his physical attributes and natural talent make him an intriguing prospect for teams to evaluate. Being that he was a fifth year prep player and is older than most freshman (he turned 20 in January), he may be tempted to leave school early based on preliminary rumblings.
The 2011 draft looks to be weak at this stage and could be especially thin at the shooting guard position, but at this point, Barton would still likely be looked at as quite a risk by most teams. He hasn't produced at a very high level this season, and he lacks the polish and feel for the game necessary to make any team believe that he could contribute anytime in the near future. Simply put, teams might not have the patience and playing time needed to develop him, and there's a good chance that he could slip between the cracks if he isn't careful.
Should Barton decide to remain in school at Memphis, he's certainly a player that we'll be watching closely, as he has the potential to really boost his draft stock if he puts in the work. He'll have more time to improve his decision-making, refine his skill set, work on his body, and show teams that he's capable of fitting into a winning system, which could ultimately earn him quite a few fans amongst NBA scouts down the road.
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2009 National Prep Showcase: Elite Prospects
November 24, 2009
Jonathan Givony
Mixed emotions is what we came away with watching extremely highly regarded recruit Will Barton (#8 Scout, #11 Rivals, #5 ESPN) compete twice at the National Prep Showcase in New Haven, at least from the standpoint of evaluating an elite prospect.
On one hand, the tools he displays are undeniable, with his excellent size, outstanding wingspan, and very nice athleticism. Barton is a scorer through and through, showing great instincts in this area, a real hunger to put the ball in the basket, and the type of swagger and competitiveness that most great players do. He has solid court vision, making some very intelligent passes in drive and dish situations in both the half-court and in transition, as well as a jump-shot that he should be able to develop into a terrific weapon down the road.
Barton displayed the ability to create his own shot and make pull-up and spot-up jumpers from beyond the arc as well as from mid-range, showing supreme confidence in his ability, probably to the point that he was forcing the issue somewhat.
Defensively, Barton has both the tools (size, length, lateral quickness) and the willingness to make his presence felt on this end of the court. He gets down in a stance and will play tough, intense, in-your-face pressure defense looking to shut-down his matchup, showing that same competitiveness that has made many a recruiting analyst fall in love with him on the AAU circuit.
On the downside, Barton has a ways to go before he can be considered the type of teammate others would like to play with, and has a few noticeable holes in his game which could very well become more of an issue against higher level competition.
His ball-handling skills first and foremost need plenty of work, as he shows very little ability to operate with his left hand and struggles in general to create his own shot in the half-court and get all the way to the basket. His decision making and shot-selection were very questionable throughout the course of the weekend, particularly when his team started falling behind and they needed him to make good decisions. He did not look like a particularly efficient scorer in the games we saw, being quite turnover prone as well.
Barton's body language was probably the biggest turnoff from watching him play, as he seems far more concerned with getting his own shots than he is helping his team win games. He would visibly pout and even proceed (on multiple occasions) to chase after his teammates following plays and yell at them for not passing him the ball, even on possessions that his team scored regardless.
Barton is obviously a much better player than he was able to show here in New Haven—he didn't look like he had much to prove here--but he's clearly not a finished product either. He needs to make sure not to let all the accolades he's getting go to his head, because the NBA is still a long ways away at this point. We'll surely see Barton again over the course of the year on the Prep School or All-Star game circuit, and are anxious to see him play up to his true potential.
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