Quote :

"where is he gonna go? the tobacco road basketball league?"

I'm more worried he's going to revert back to Dr Jekyll Cat after a few games.

Consistent is not a word I'd use to describe anyone on this team.

2/5/2015 9:19:03 AM

Plus there's absolutely no reason for him to transfer.

2/5/2015 10:07:47 AM

2/5/2015 4:27:07 PM

Even our mascot has noticed Cat's improved play.


[notice the half chub]

2/5/2015 4:28:31 PM

Catdog

2/5/2015 6:12:30 PM

Cannot be unseen. shut'r down

2/5/2015 6:18:40 PM

Didn't shit the bed in a high profile game where he needed to show up.

Pleasantly surprised.

2/11/2015 10:10:01 PM

Definitely peaking, unfortunately it seems like Turner and Martin twins have dwindled.

2/11/2015 10:11:28 PM

one of the few bright spots amidst this team's struggles since beating Duke.

2/11/2015 10:12:41 PM

Good performance tonight, even though his jump shot wasn't falling he stayed composed, drove to the basket, and played good defense.

2/11/2015 10:15:41 PM

It seems he's silenced the bitch ass haters.

2/11/2015 10:27:25 PM

He is the only one worth a damn on this team. I remember ANY kicking ass last year in the UNC game...what the hell happened?!

2/11/2015 11:50:12 PM

I'm guessing you meant Anya and that is the only game he did anything in. And he didn't even really do alot that game. He made wide open dunks. So what happened? Nothing happened. Hes the same player minus 40 pounds.

2/11/2015 11:55:34 PM

he started doing what we all wanted him to do and his game has never been better

keep it up

2/14/2015 6:13:52 PM

kudos to him for improving despite gottfried's inability to develop players.

2/14/2015 6:26:43 PM

To the top.

2/14/2015 6:31:31 PM

gg Cat. Last four games, he's been all ACC caliber.

2/14/2015 7:15:13 PM

Fucking tablet

[Edited on February 14, 2015 at 7:15 PM. Reason : d]

2/14/2015 7:15:13 PM

dmspack is insufferable

tj warren goes from a bench freshman to acc poy yet that has nothing to do with the coaching staff

[Edited on February 14, 2015 at 7:33 PM. Reason : you people]

2/14/2015 7:33:26 PM

^i was kidding, man. sorry if that wasn't obvious.

i like gott and think i've made that fairly clear in other threads...was just makin a joke based off the "gott can't develop players" post in the gottfried credibility thread.

[Edited on February 14, 2015 at 7:37 PM. Reason : a]

2/14/2015 7:35:15 PM

lol

2/14/2015 7:37:16 PM

The Baller, the baker and the basket MAKER

2/14/2015 7:37:20 PM

Appreciate him balling despite repeatedly getting the shit beat out of him today

2/14/2015 9:53:31 PM

sorry, theres like 3-4 people I confuse with each other. I may have gotten you confused with packboozie, pls dont take offense

2/15/2015 7:48:22 PM

haha none taken at all.

2/15/2015 7:49:31 PM

Very encouraged by Barber's play yesterday. He seemed like he was in complete control of the offense and was the first player in a while to step up for us and hit some free throws for once in a close game.

2/15/2015 9:49:19 PM

2/15/2015 10:01:35 PM

haha fuckin Soldier Gott

2/15/2015 10:23:59 PM

2/15/2015 10:27:15 PM

^ FOH mane

2/15/2015 10:30:59 PM

You're not making me feel accepted or appreciated.

2/15/2015 10:44:51 PM

Well why dontcha cry about it, saddle bags!

2/16/2015 12:40:56 PM

Don't you have better things to do with $5 Sun Devil?

2/16/2015 12:46:35 PM

ahahaha i had forgotten all about gott in fatigues.

2/16/2015 4:46:52 PM

2/18/2015 9:29:15 AM

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/virginia-tech/dp-spt-advance-cat-barber-virginia-tech-nc-state-mens-hoops-0221-20150220-story.html#page=1

Quote :

" Just hearing the words "go get the ball" in crunch time last Saturday against No. 9 Louisville from his coach were enough to validate the approach Anthony "Cat" Barber had been wanting to take at North Carolina State. Until recently, Barber's problem had been he'd never quite figured out how to get back to that place he'd always felt comfortable as a kid. He's found it again. "I don't think I've ever doubted myself about anything," said Barber, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore graduate of Hampton High. He earned the nickname "Big Cat," which ultimately got shortened to just "Cat," from his sister, Pamela, when he was about 5 years old for his inexplicable ability to fit into tight spaces — a skill that has served him well on Atlantic Coast Conference basketball courts. "It's just I felt like I wasn't playing to my ability for a while. I knew what I could do to help the team, but I never in my life have ever doubted myself or said I can't do this or I can't do that. … The first year (in college) is always going to be a struggle for some people, but the next year all depends on how hard you work. I worked during my offseason, and it's paying off now." He was the skinny young man calling for the ball at the Doris Miller Community Center in downtown Newport News and the "Allen Iverson" courts on Shell Road in Hampton — Peninsula basketball proving grounds where players who have the goods to hang with the older guys get weeded out from the pretenders. He was the dude never too bashful to take a big shot while ascending to the top of the Peninsula District's all-time leading scorers' list, or becoming an elite national recruit while playing for Boo Williams' AAU program. All of which made Barber's inconsistent first season-and-a-half for N.C. State, which hosts struggling Virginia Tech (10-16, 2-11 ACC) — losers of 17 consecutive true road games dating back to December 2013 — on Saturday night, difficult for him to process. After arriving at N.C. State (15-11, 6-7) considered by most recruiting analysts as one of the nation's top 15 prospects in the class of 2013, he started half of the 36 games in which he played as a freshman point guard, averaging 8.5 points, 3.5 assists and 1.7 turnovers per game while shooting just 40.1 percent from the floor and 26.1 percent from beyond the 3-point line. He was up-and-down in his first 21 games this season, scoring in double figures 11 times, but shooting 33 percent or worse from the floor in 10 games and logging an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1-to-1 or worse in six games. In the last four games, the old Cat has returned. Barber averaged 20.8 points per game at No. 9 Louisville, against No. 2 Virginia, at Wake Forest and at Georgia Tech. Going back a couple more games before the recent four-game stretch, he's had 20 assists and just three turnovers in his last six games. He had 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, seven assists, one turnover and two steals in an 81-80 overtime win at Georgia Tech. He scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line, four assists, no turnovers and two steals in an 88-84 loss to Wake Forest. He had 11 points, three steals and no turnovers in a 51-47 loss to U.Va., drawing rave reviews from Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon as a guy the Cavaliers couldn't keep in front of them. N.C. State's 74-65 upset win at Louisville was perhaps the real breakout. He was only 5 of 15 from the floor, but he made 10 of a career-high 13 free throws, including 7 of 8 in the final 52 seconds after being the beneficiary of a very specific command from N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried during a late timeout. "At the end of the Louisville game, Coach told me, 'Go get the ball. Go get the ball. Keep the ball in your hands,'" said Barber, who is averaging 11.8 points, 3.2 assists and 1.8 turnovers per game this season while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from 3-point range. "I feel like they bank on me a lot and in a lot of ways to help us win games." Origins of Cat Growing up on 36th Street near Washington Avenue in downtown Newport News, Barber had no shortage of hot spots to hone his game. It was just a matter of asserting his will among big boys and grown men. The rickety old hoop on 35th Street — right around the corner and down the block from his home — was just as important in the formation of Barber's skills as the Doris Miller center and the Boys and Girls Club courts on Shell Road, known locally as the Allen Iverson courts because the Newport News native and former NBA All-Star donated $30,000 for the refurbishment of the courts 12 years ago. Barber learned how to weave to the basket while taking elbows to the biceps and knees to the thighs, often from men three times his age. These are the places where he learned a style of play he's never abandoned. "I've been doing that all my life," Barber said. "I don't feel like anything can stop me from doing it now, so I just keep attacking the rim no matter what. I'll do anything. I just keep going and keep going, no matter if I get my shot blocked sometime or if something bad happens. I'm going to keep going to the rim." Jeff Barnes, Barber's cousin and a former Hampton High teammate, saw Barber grow up on those courts. Reserved and quiet off the floor, Barber found his voice on it through those experiences. "We were the young kids out there," said Barnes, a sophomore pre-pharmacy major at Virginia State whom Barber counts among his closest friends. "If you called ball, you had to fight for that ball because you might not even get your call respected, but Cat was always the one who was going to get respect, regardless. He was always the one who was going to take what he wanted. "He's always wanted to be the one. He takes it very serious. He's very loud and outspoken on the court, but off the court, if you don't know him, he's not going to say too much until he gets to know you. Ever since little league, that was his dream to make it to the top. He always said he was going to make it to the NBA. It's getting closer day-by-day." The passion to perfect his ballhandling skills also came at an early age. James Barber, Cat's father, can remember his son constantly dribbling a tennis ball around — between his legs, behind his back — when he was barely a first-grader. James recalls Cat not wasting any time making up his mind regarding the path he wanted to take. "He always wanted to go to the court so much, never stopped talking about it," James said. "Back then, I knew. I said, 'Uh-oh, I think my son is going to love playing basketball more than anything,' but he liked football back then, too. As he got older, I asked him [when Cat was about 12], 'Son, which one are you going to stick with? Football or basketball?' He said right away, 'Dad, I'm going to stick with basketball.'" Taking the next step Early this season, Barber had a conversation with Gottfried about what the coach expected out of his point guard. Barber left without any questions about the direction he had to go. Gottfried wanted the swagger back. "Coach Gottfried told me, 'We need Cat Barber,' " Anthony said. "I took that into consideration and just showed him that I could come out and help the team score. My team needed me to score. I think I could've always scored, but I wasn't playing how I normally play, so my coaches told me to step it up a notch. I'm glad I did. My confidence is just growing and growing." Though Gottfried is getting what he's seeking, there's still room for Barber to grow. There's room for more attitude. "I call him 'the Cat Daddy,' " Gottfried said. "I want him to play like the Cat Daddy. I think there's been times with him when he's tried so hard to run a team, get our team in the offense, that he hasn't utilized that great speed and quickness that he has. Even lately, my message to him has been to turn it loose. Cut it loose. Let's go. He's gained confidence, so again, hopefully he'll continue that." Even Barnes, who knows as much about Barber as anybody, didn't initially understand how his buddy could've chosen N.C. State over a scholarship offer from a perennial basketball power like Kansas. Barber wanted to deliver his own statement. He's just starting to make it. "In the beginning (at N.C. State), I don't think it was hard, but you've got to kind of like know what you have to do and know when to do it," Barber said. "It's just a mind game (in college) where you have to pick your spots and know what you have to do and know your personnel. I think I kind of picked it up through last year and into this year, and I've just gotten better and better with it.""

2/22/2015 2:22:06 PM

2/24/2015 9:54:41 PM

Made that freshman to sophomore jump... such a different player with confidence.

2/24/2015 9:57:27 PM

If he had played all season like he has in Feb, we'd be talking All ACC for this guy. Last year I was always nervous when he had the ball that something stupid was going to happen, but tonight I was like "thank God we have a real point guard to handle the pressure of this situation".

[Edited on February 24, 2015 at 10:23 PM. Reason : e]

2/24/2015 10:22:44 PM

he has really transformed himself since that member of his family died.

Way to go Cat.

2/24/2015 10:28:26 PM

He's been our most talented (potential) player since he got here, including Warren. Finally coming into his own, which isn't some seamless transition from breaking Iverson high school records to playing against top notch college talent. I love it though. He is who we thought he was, and he's letting haters off the hook!

2/24/2015 10:31:53 PM

I think he had a LOT of stuff going on for his first 1.5 seasons here and now he sees that the offense can revolved around him if he does what he is best at.

And good LORD if he didn't shut down Paige tonight...well done sir.

2/24/2015 10:34:05 PM

Keeps getting better and better. I talked A LOT of shit about him due to his potential but yet lack of production on the court. I'll eat crow because he's laying like an ACC caliber PG consistently.

[Edited on February 24, 2015 at 10:40 PM. Reason : ...]

2/24/2015 10:36:28 PM

Smh at the warren comment. However, barber has been the man lately. I get nervous when Gottfried takes him out for a breather. He actually gives me some confidence in end of game situations and seems to actually be able to hit free throws when we need it.

2/24/2015 10:36:58 PM

He's more conventionally talented than Warren. If he (continues) to figure it out, he's got an easy spot as in the league as a guy who will earn millions. Warren basically has to be the best player on the planet at what he does to get the same.

2/24/2015 10:45:16 PM

OK 100

2/24/2015 10:46:16 PM

Raw athlete like him is going to take time to figure it out. What was his coaching in high school, "um.. run by that guy and score." You can see he is starting to mix basketball IQ with athleticism. Takes time to click.

2/24/2015 10:48:09 PM

What JT said. So appreciated the way he's played of late.

2/24/2015 10:48:33 PM

Cat's straight ballin. That drive all the way under and past the basket with a turn around jumper as the shot clock expires was a thing of beauty

2/24/2015 11:30:24 PM

The confidence and composure he showed tonight in a rowdy atmosphere, close game, against a rival was unbelievable considering where he was just a few months ago.

2/24/2015 11:44:50 PM