By Max Lederman and Jeff Powalisz
Northeastern junior point guard Jose Juan Barea was quoted in the July 15 issue of El Nueva Dia as saying he may declare himself eligible for the 2005 NBA draft. With the great success Barea is having this summer for the Puerto Rico national under-21 team, the announcement does not come as a surprise to those close to the 6-foot guard.
“He’s proven himself on the international level,” said Ron Everhart, Northeastern head basketball coach. “I think when you perform like he has, it warrants a look.”
Ideally Barea would like to follow in the footsteps of fellow Puerto Rican players Peter John Ramos and Carlos Arroyo. The 7-foot 3-inch Ramos was taken by the Washington Wizards with the 32nd overall pick last month in the NBA draft and should make the team. Arroyo, who replaced John Stockton as the Utah Jazz’s starting point guard last season, was not even drafted when he declared in 2001. After just one season playing overseas in Spain, the Toronto Raptors picked him up in October 2002 and he became the fifth Puerto Rican in history to play in the NBA.
Underclassmen that declare for the draft and do not hire an agent can retain their NCAA eligibility if they pull their names out a week before the draft. This strategy allows players who are unsure of their stock to participate in NBA pre-draft camps while keeping open the option of returning to school.
Barea may be doing the same thing current Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson did before his senior year at Saint Joseph’s. Nelson declared himself eligible for the 2003 NBA draft but pulled his name out when he did not receive a first round guarantee. Nelson retu-rned to Hawk Hill for his senior year and had one of the best college basketball seasons ever, winning every national player of the year award while leading the Hawks to a perfect regular season record (27-0) and a spot in the Elite Eight. He was selected 20th overall by the Nuggets last month before being traded to the Magic.
Even if this is all speculation, the bottom line is Barea is lighting up every tournament he plays in this summer and will continue to generate hype with his stellar performances.
In his latest action, the 2004 Under-21 Centrobasket tournament, Barea won Most Valuable Player honors while leading Puerto Rico to the gold medal. He averaged 18.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 3.5 steals a game in the tournament, dominating the floor and directing his team’s offense.
In the championship game Barea and his teammates found themselves trailing 46-43 to the Bahamas at the half. Barea led the attack for Puerto Rico in the second half, scoring nine of his 21 points and helping Puerto Rico out-score the Bahamas by 17 points on their way to a convincing 90-76 championship win.
The Barea-led Puerto Ricans cruised in their first two games of the tournament, with a 99-44 decision over Barbados and an equally dominant 98-46 win over Mexico. Barea’s most dominant performance came against the Dominican Repu-blic in the semi-finals where he just missed a triple-double (21 points, 11 assists, nine rebou-nds) in a 102-74 victory.
“He definitely keeps his edge [in summer play],” said Everhart. “He works on his defense and his shooting, working on the fundamentals. He’s proven himself in the U.S. and in college basketball, and now he’s also playing internationally, on a bigger stage with more pressure.”
With their strong play in the tournament, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic all qualified for the 2004 Under-21 Tournament of the Americas, July 27 through Aug. 1.
“I’m very proud of what he’s accomplished, not only for NU but for himself,” Everhart said. “It’s the second year in a row that he has qualified for the Tournament of Americas, which is a big deal.”
Barea also competed in the 2004 Coca-Cola Global Games last month.
Averaging 28.5 games, Barea led Puerto Rico to the bronze medal game, where despite a valiant effort, the team lost 107-106 to the United States in overtime.
Barea, a native of Puerto Rico’s Mayaguez, became the first Husky in 14 years this past winter to be named to the First-Team All-America East. A lethal threat from the three-point arc, Barea was tops in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.358), while ranking second in the conference in both scoring (20.7) and assists average (5.76). His success helped the Huskies win 10 conference games for the first time since 1994.
