José Juan Barea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 J.J. Barea representing his native country of Puerto Rico.
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| Position | Point Guard |
|---|---|
| Nickname | J.J. |
| League | NBA |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (80 kg) |
| Team | Dallas Mavericks |
| Nationality |  Puerto Rico |
| Born | June 26, 1984 Mayagüez |
| College | Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Draft | undrafted |
| Pro career | 2006 – present |
José Juan Barea (born June 26, 1984 in Mayagüez) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. Barea is the seventh player from Puerto Rico to play in an NBA game. Barea has played in the NBA, NCAA and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with Mayaguez Tainos and the Santurce Crabbers. He went undrafted in the 2006 NBA Draft, but was signed by the Dallas Mavericks and became the 7th Puerto Rican to play in the NBA. He was a member of the of the 2006 Puerto Rican National Team that won the Gold Medal in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games.
[edit] Biography
Listed at 6 feet tall, Barea was a four-year letterman at Northeastern University from 2003-2006. In 2005 and 2006, as a junior and senior, he was named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's best point guard. Barea was a two-time All-America East First Team selection. Northeastern switched to the Colonial Athletic Association for his senior campaign and he earned All-CAA First Team honors. Barea finished his career as the school's second all-time leading scorer with 2,209 points behind Reggie Lewis. He also leaves Northeastern as its second all-time leader in assists with 721 and leader in three-point field goals made (255).
During his senior year (2005-06); Barea was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press. He was named Player of the Year in the CAA. NABC All-District 1 First Team selection. Named Mid-Major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. Finished third in the country in assists (8.4 apg). He led Northeastern and finished 19th in the nation in scoring (21.0 ppg). Had 26 points and nine assists against California. Averaged 16.5 points and 7.0 assists in two games against eventual Final Four participant, George Mason. Scored a season-high 32 points, to go with 10 assists against Old Dominion.
During his junior year (2004-05); Barea ranked second in the America East and eighth in the country in scoring (22.2 ppg). Led the conference and was fifth in the nation in assists (7.3 apg). Named an Honorable Mention All-America by SI.com. Recognized as an All-District 1 Second Team selection for the second year in a row by the NABC. Placed third in assists (218), fourth in three-pointers (68) and sixth in points (665) on Northeastern's single-season charts. Tied the school record with a career-high 41 points against Stony Brook.
During his sophomore year (2003-04); Barea led the team and was second in the conference in scoring (20.7 ppg) and assists (5.8 apg). Became the first Husky since Reggie Lewis in 1986-87 to average at least 20 points. Recorded double-double with 19 points and 10 assists in a 91-84 win over West Virginia.
During his freshman year (2002-03); Barea led the team and was third in America East in scoring (17.0 ppg). Was named to the America East All-Rookie Team, All-Tournament Team and All-Conference Third Team. First Husky freshman to record 400 points and 100 assists in a season. Led NU with a team-high 25 double-figure scoring games.
In April of 2006 Barea made a stellar showing at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Virginia, finishing with averages of 15 points, 13.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game while committing just five turnovers in three contests. Barea shattered the single-game and single-tournament assist records, dishing out 18 assists in a 118-100 victory, giving him 41 assists in three games. For his efforts, Barea was awarded the Allen Iverson Award for inspiration and effort in the competition.
During the summer of 2006 Barea participated with the Golden State Warriors during the Vegas Summer League. He also participated with the Dallas Mavericks in the Rocky Mountain Revue where in three games, he averaged 12.0 points, 6.7 assists, 1.7 rebounds in 25.0 minutes.
In July 2006, Barea helped the Puerto Rican Team win the gold medal in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. Played the hero by making a 3 pointer with 14 seconds left in the Championship game against Panama winning the gold medal.
On October 30, 2006 Barea was officially made part of the Dallas Mavericks. He enjoyed a successful preseason with the team, which prompted the Mavs to give him a guaranteed $400,000 contract for 1 year. he is expected to play in the NBDL this year, as the Mavericks possess 3 established point guards in their roster besides Barea.
Barea is a hero in his hometown of Puerto Rico, and is also well-known by NBA scouts and writers. He is considered a poor man's Jason Kidd due to his lack of size and thus limited court vision. However, he is an extremely gifted rebounder for his size, a good passer, and can score in multiple ways. He is currently working on his long range shooting.
While Barea has played in the Puerto Rico national team, he is the process of becoming a Spanish citizenship, "because of family ties" according to Spain's Sport Press [1] which could be a step into being included in the Spanish National Team, currently the World Champions.
[edit] Career stats
Barea's NCAA stats in 113 games are 2290 points with a 20.3 PPG, 721 assists with a 6.4 APG, 437 rebounds with a 3.9 RPG, 178 steals with a 1.6 SPG, .404 field goal percentage, .764 free-throw percentage, and .321 3-point percentage.
