Toros Now as Good as the Knicks With Addition of Barrett
By Matt Moore, February 27, 2008, 6:45pm, The Score
The Austin Toros can now beat the New York Knicks. I'm not kidding. I am, in no way, joking when I say that. This ain't homerism. I'm telling you. The Austin Toros are going to be the best team in the history of the D-League. Which isn't saying much. But still. They're going to legitimately be able to beat about three teams in the NBA. And not in the "any given night" way. They can take New York. They can take Memphis. And they can take Seattle. Here's why:
The Toros are currently 21-11. They play in arguably the most loaded division. They've had three call-ups this season. But they also feature a ridiculous amount of talent. Former Arizona stud Marcus Williams comes off the bench. Former Nugget DerMarr Johnson rolls for them. And, oh yeah, they've got KU alum Keith Langford averaging 34 points and six assists for them. Which is fun.
So they've got good forwards, good depth, one of the best NBA assignment players in Ian Mahinmi, and the No. 1 player on Draft Express' D-League Call-Up Candidates board. So how could they get better?
They just got No. 2 on that list.
Andre Barrett, 26 years old, 5' 9", 170 lbs. Not too intimidating right? This guy's been around. And he's freakishly quick. I saw him at the D-League All-Star game and there was no question who was the fastest guy out there. He was lightning quick. Barrett's really flourishing with more playing time. The biggest thing is he's started to work on his passing skills, and his assists are up considerably. His last stint in the league last year with the Bulls didn't work out, but that doesn't mean he's not going to kill it in Austin. He's averaging 19 and 9, and that was on a team with less talent than the Toros. This is great news for the Toros' players, since they'll all look better as they're steamrolling folks. They need to improve on their road record with 10 of their last 17 on the road, but unless there's a flurry of call-ups in the next few days (which is possible), the Toros are gonna smoke the remaining D-League.
Want to know about Barrett's vision? Here's a taste:
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