Tuesday, February 1, 2011

More aggressiveness needed from Barnett

It was pretty obvious during the first half of Saturday's loss against La Salle that the 49ers were trying to get forward Javarris Barnett to shake himself out of the shooting slump he'd been mired in for four games.

After scoring in double figures in five of seven games, Barnett had been struggling, averaging 4.7 points on six-of-26 shooting against Fordham, UMass, Duquesne and Temple.


Barnett -- who's usually a spot-up 3-point shooter -- scored 16 points in the first 20 minutes against the Explorers, going to the basket, shooting off the dribble and otherwise being much more aggressive offensively. It worked for a while but he only scored three points in the second half.

If the 49ers are to emerge from the slump they're in -- four straight losses, five in the last six games -- Barnett needs to continue to contribute offensively more consistently (he's been steady on the boards, averaging 5.5 per game). He doesn't need to do it by scoring 16 points each half, but by being more of an inside-out guy. Chris Braswell is Charlotte's only low-post scorer (although K.J. Sherrill is coming around), while guards Derrio Green and Jamar Briscoe are both sub-.400 shooters from the perimeter.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some of you sports writers just keep pushing the envelope.
First you tell him it's the ref, then you tell him it''s his turn overs, then you tell him it's his free throws, then you tell him he needs to hustle for 40 minutes. What's a player to think? He's confused!

Maybe you should be coaching the team.

Dowless said...

At least David has enough nads to put his name on what he writes. Great article David. Thanks for keeping us posted on the 49ers.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree. Our 3pt shooting from our starting guards isn't very good, we need Barnett to take it inside and then hit 3s when he's hot. I am hoping KJ has arrived. I am driving from Mississippi to the homecoming game vs GWU. GO NINERS!

Anonymous said...

kid is a mush. you guys are hopeless.

Anonymous said...

I think JB is the key to the team. When he plays well, the team plays well. I would like to see JB have more plays designed for him and for the coaches to implore him to be more active in the offense.