As Sophomore Will Barton goes, so do the Tigers

6’6″ super-soph Will Barton for Memphis University out of Baltimore exploded for 27 Pts, 14 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk in a big win AT Miami in which the Tigers were actually the under dog but came away with a 71-54 win.

On Nov. 21, Memphis was beat down by Michigan.  The Wolverines put the clamps on Barton and held him to 12 points on 3-12 shooting.

Barton has done nothing but bounce back since and with his resurgence, Memphis is back to where everybody thought they were before the season started; a very dangerous team that likes to get up and down the court.  He went for 22 points 13 rebounds and 6 assists in the contest before the Miami game against Austin Peay.  AP is 1-9 for the season so he did it against nobody, but the kid is looking to sniff out a triple-double by the time the season is over.

The dominance against Miami proved he could do it against legit competition… or NIT-legit at the very least.

With the win, the Tigers are 5-2 on the year.  After Barton, speedy guard Joe Jackson is the Tigers leading scorer at 13 points per game.  Freshman Adonis Thomas cant hit the three and  adds 11 points per game.  He will only get better but needs to learn to be more active when the ball isn’t in his hands.

Big man Tarik Black could be a force in the paint at 6’8″ 255 as he showed in the game against Georgetown but can’t seem to stay on the court long enough.  He is getting 8 points and three boards per game but is capable of much more.  The development of Black as the season goes will be a big key if Josh Pastner wants to make a run in march.