Barro could be All Big East next year.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Amazing how this kid has developed from his first day at MU to now.  Next year could be very special for him and this team.

[TJ]

Agreed, especially if he gets some help down low from Hayward or a freshman coming in or even improvement from Burke/Lott/Trend.  He has been tremendous this year.

[MUCam]

Agreed. What growth. By far, my favorite MU player on the roster right now.

[CTWarrior]

He gets better every game.  He's got an unbelieveable motor. 

[MU Avenue]

Yes, Ousmane Barro has moments where he plays solidly. But those moments are usually punctuated by stretches where he plays clumsily, including awful ball handling, missing what should be automatic shots and getting smoked on defense.

His play against Georgetown today was hardly that of an all-conference player or even of a future all-conference player. What, because he actually had a few points and grabbed some rebounds?

Marquette desperately needs big, strong players who bring skills and consistency. Barro, while a hard worker who seems to give it his all, is hardly the answer.

[CTWarrior]

Sorry, I didn't see all the negative stuff you did today.  There was one possession (I believe it was at 58-54) where he got inside position and a great entry pass and fumbled it instead of making the layup, but he recovered the ball and we still ended up getting a shot off, though it was an awful three from somebody.  Other than that, I thought he was consistently  very good today, particularly when you consider his main inside cohort was a 6-5 freshman signed supposedly because of his shooting ability.

[Tulsa Warrior]

Barro played an extremely solid game.  To record a double, double against the inside strength of Georgetown is nothing short of a great game.  If James had played up to that lsame evel the outcome would have been different.  Barro is about to become Dennis Rodman without the wardrobe and tatoos.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Tulsa - Barro had a great game, but where in the world do you get a comparison to Rodman? Rodman was a rebounding machine! Furthermore, he was a defensive terror. Just where is Barro comparable to The Worm?

Ugh...sometimes I wonder if some people on this board actually believe what they post.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Yes, Ousmane Barro has moments where he plays solidly. But those moments are usually punctuated by stretches where he plays clumsily, including awful ball handling, missing what should be automatic shots and getting smoked on defense.

His play against Georgetown today was hardly that of an all-conference player or even of a future all-conference player. What, because he actually had a few points and grabbed some rebounds?

Marquette desperately needs big, strong players who bring skills and consistency. Barro, while a hard worker who seems to give it his all, is hardly the answer.

Avenue, you keep piling on this kid and all he does is continue to impress game after game.  He didn't even play high school ball.  He's going to have a terrific senior season.

[79Warrior]

improved player on the team. Hayward seems to be playing with lots of confidence. Hard to believe they beat us by 18 when the game was close until the last 5 minutes. DJ seemed very selfish towards the end, launching crappy shot after crappy shot.

[MU Avenue]

... I think Marquette is making a serious mistake if it is relying on Barro to help lead the team to greatness.

When I watch Barro play, even in games when he contributes offensively and on the boards, I see a fair-yet-inconsistent player who has serious trouble handling the ball and can be pushed around in the paint.

Do people here really think MU can really excel with Barro as its big man and intimidator under the hoop?

Again, he is not the answer.

An OK supporting player? Sure.

Our strength and authority up front? No way and never.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Where is anyone saying he needs to be the leader of this team or someone we rely on?  Hardly, he is a complimentary player and everyone knows that but that doesn't mean he can't be a significant contributor next year.  The big three are who we rely on, but this kid could come close to averaging a double double next year.

He's averaging 9.1 points and 7.01 rebounds per game this year

I would take 12 points and 8 rebounds per game next year in a heart beat and I don't think that is asking too much with the progress he has been making.

[Big Papi]

Barro has improved greatly when it comes to finishing around the basket off of penetration.  Also his rebounding has improved greatly.  He still needs to expand his offensive game and actually score down low in the block from a perimeter pass.

[muwarrior87]

Avenue--ppl like you need to really get off these websites. Barro's improvement over the past years has been phenomenal. And noone is asking him to be the dominant leader of this team. We have 3 amazing sophomores, who had an off day/were sick today, and plenty of talent around him. he is a key supporting cog for this team and definitely could be one of the best centers in the league next year.

one thing that really annoys me is when people don't have anything to post during an 8 game winning streak and as soon as we lose a game to a really hot team on the road, people start criticizing like crazy. this is so annoying.

[RawdogDX]

I would take 12 points and 8 rebounds per game next year in a heart beat and I don't think that is asking too much with the progress he has been making.

actually you don't have to wait till next year for that to happen.
he's putting up 11 and 8 in conference and 12 per game over the last 9.
Next year i'm thinking closer to 15 and 10 and 2nd team all big east.

Ave - you need to start having reasonable expectations.  Not every team has a dominating centers.  Seriously how many are there?  About 8 in all of college basketball?  No Barro isn't a top 10 college big man but you could make the arguement that mcsteal and james are top 10 level guards.  How many teams out there have guards as good as ours and a dominating big man?  Yes it would be nice to start 5 all american canidates, but we don't, we won't, accept it.

[muwarrior87]

plus, we are a running team, a huge 7' dominating low post presence would completely change the game plan of this team.

[spartan3186]

Now I may get ripped for what I am about to say but thats fine.

I seriously think that an NBA team may take a chance on ooze late in the second round or at the very least give him a try-out. This is based on two things.
1) Ousmane's continued development over the last 2+ years
2) The potential that is still untapped
With an NBA coach that knows how to coach big men ousmane, and a professional weight coach Ousmane could develop into a decent NBA player. A big men that can run the floor like Ousmane and has the potential ousmane does will be looked at by NBA scouts... at least thats my opinion

Edit:
If he has a big tournament he'll have an even better shot. Look at Tyrus Thomas... he had a huge tournament and became a lottery pick on potential alone. Im not saying Ooze is Thomas but the point remains

[muwarrior87]

i could see him getting picked up undrafted the way he has improved, idk abt nba right away, maybe developmental league for a year or two but i dont think it's at all out of the question if he continues to improve the way he has the past 2+ years.