Post by Copenhagen on Jun 13, 2009 4:54:40 GMT -5
URI'S BARON SHOOTING FOR NBA
By BRIAN LEWIS
June 13, 2009 --
Rhode Island guard Jimmy Baron had read all the scouting reports on his own game, heard that he was a one-trick pony. But the deadeye shooter's one trick is so good, it just might get him into the NBA.
"That's what I do," Baron said after taking part in a 36-player, 23-team predraft workout at the Nets' practice facility. "College is different from the pros. The pros pay you for what you do best. For me, that's shoot the basketball.
"If I try and deviate and do other things, that'll probably lower my stock, so I'm just going to go out there and do what I do best, shoot the basketball, and hopefully that takes me somewhere."
Hopefully into the NBA. As a 6-foot-3 guard who has yet to prove he can play the point, his odds are slim. But the Barons are good at beating the odds.
After open heart surgery in February, Jimmy's mother, Cindy, made such a stunning recovery she trained to run a marathon. And his father, Jim Sr., who coached his son at Rhode Island, grew up in a Brooklyn tenement where his parents and eight kids shared three bedrooms.
The elder Baron earned a scholarship to St. Bonaventure, where he eventually coached before taking over Rhode Island. The son of a mason not only rebuilt two sad programs, but molded his son into an honor roll student and the best 3-point shooter in Atlantic 10 history.
"He can shoot the ball. He broke the 3-point record in the A-10," said Baron Sr. "Jimmy's worked very hard to develop himself. That's one thing he's done an outstanding job of, really shooting the ball. There's not many really good shooters out there, even in the pro ranks."
At Rhode Island, Baron averaged 17.4 points and hit 45.4 percent from 3-point range.
"He can really shoot the ball. And he's a good player. He knows what he's doing," Knicks president Donnie Walsh said of Baron, who patterns his game after John Paxson and is represented by B.J. Armstrong.
"There's definitely a chance I could get drafted," Baron said. "If it works out, tremendous. If I have to go overseas, I'll be willing to do that too. I'm as realistic as it gets."
Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe said: "He competes. He's a guy you can count on every day."
brian.lewis@nypost.com
By BRIAN LEWIS
June 13, 2009 --
Rhode Island guard Jimmy Baron had read all the scouting reports on his own game, heard that he was a one-trick pony. But the deadeye shooter's one trick is so good, it just might get him into the NBA.
"That's what I do," Baron said after taking part in a 36-player, 23-team predraft workout at the Nets' practice facility. "College is different from the pros. The pros pay you for what you do best. For me, that's shoot the basketball.
"If I try and deviate and do other things, that'll probably lower my stock, so I'm just going to go out there and do what I do best, shoot the basketball, and hopefully that takes me somewhere."
Hopefully into the NBA. As a 6-foot-3 guard who has yet to prove he can play the point, his odds are slim. But the Barons are good at beating the odds.
After open heart surgery in February, Jimmy's mother, Cindy, made such a stunning recovery she trained to run a marathon. And his father, Jim Sr., who coached his son at Rhode Island, grew up in a Brooklyn tenement where his parents and eight kids shared three bedrooms.
The elder Baron earned a scholarship to St. Bonaventure, where he eventually coached before taking over Rhode Island. The son of a mason not only rebuilt two sad programs, but molded his son into an honor roll student and the best 3-point shooter in Atlantic 10 history.
"He can shoot the ball. He broke the 3-point record in the A-10," said Baron Sr. "Jimmy's worked very hard to develop himself. That's one thing he's done an outstanding job of, really shooting the ball. There's not many really good shooters out there, even in the pro ranks."
At Rhode Island, Baron averaged 17.4 points and hit 45.4 percent from 3-point range.
"He can really shoot the ball. And he's a good player. He knows what he's doing," Knicks president Donnie Walsh said of Baron, who patterns his game after John Paxson and is represented by B.J. Armstrong.
"There's definitely a chance I could get drafted," Baron said. "If it works out, tremendous. If I have to go overseas, I'll be willing to do that too. I'm as realistic as it gets."
Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe said: "He competes. He's a guy you can count on every day."
brian.lewis@nypost.com