Isaiah Michael Barnes is a 6-foot-7 wing player that can get lined up at the shooting guard position on the floor. He is currently still in college and playing basketball for the Michigan Wolverines, but most people don’t really know who he is at all. Here we are going to dive a little deeper into his current situation along with some other facts you didn’t know.
Contents
Debut
Isaiah Barnes was able to step onto the court for Michigan on November 21st, 2021.
The debut for the team didn’t necessarily go the way he anticipated. After all, the game was a blowout loss that the Wolverines were in and just subbed him in for the final two and a half minutes.
He didn’t get to do much for that debut due to the little time he was given. His next and only other appearance was pretty similar as well.
He subbed in for the final three minutes in a different blowout loss to North Carolina.
The one problem that people caught onto with Barnes is that he didn’t attempt a shot, nor was he even trying to get a bucket. The only stat he recorded in these appearances was one defensive rebound.
That came off of a missed free throw as well. Clearly, he needed more time to adjust to the college level before being given full flexibility on the floor.
Redshirt
Due to the lack of playing time and struggle to adjust to the college level, the team came up with a plan to try and redshirt him to help alleviate some of the pressure that might be hindering him.
When the team came to this choice and Barnes was able to focus primarily on his practice, it was clear to everybody involved that he was a completely different player than before. Assistant coach Phil Martelli labeled him as the most improved player on the roster back in July for example.
Barnes was also allowed to play a little more freely during his time on the scout team, leading to some excellent plays when given the opportunity. Martelli spoke openly about how his shooting had been revamped, his explosiveness was improving and his overall aggression took a step up.
The one note that Martelli had for his young player was that he needed to hit the weight room a bit more, though this isn’t uncommon for players at the college level.
Team Bio For Barnes
Michigan has a site which lists some facts about players on their basketball team. Isaiah Barnes was no exception to this, leaving us with some pretty interesting information about how the coaches feel about him and just a deeper dive into his life.
For starters, the bio reads that Barnes as a strong work ethic during practice. That he has a serious dedication to the game of basketball and works every day to continue improving all areas of his game.
The kid clearly wants to be great and is taking every chance he can to make the most of the opportunity. It also reads that he is, “Known for handling the ball on the perimeter, playing downhill and attacking the basket.” With how tall Barnes is listed at while playing the shooting guard position, it’s a very difficult thing to defend him when he can handle the ball well with excellent scoring.
Next, it says that he’s a very versatile shooter. The note next to it does make sure to mention that he’s still in his development as a shooter. This means that while he’s able to shoot from multiple spots on the floor, he’s not been able to fully maximize his potential with his jump shot.
Though that could just come around with more time. Then finally, they leave us with the fact that his brother Daniel played at Eastern Michigan.
This was all the way back in 2008 before Daniel transferred over to Illinois-Chicago about a year or two later.
Playing Time Was Hard To Come By
It wasn’t entirely surprising that Branes wasn’t able to step out there and play more in his freshman campaign.
After all, Michigan had a lot of talent at the shooting guard position, making it incredibly difficult for him to find a spot early on while still adjusting to the new level of competition.
The main competitor for minutes was Caleb Houstan, a guard that started every single game over Barnes at the position and played very well throughout the entire year. Behind him was Eli Brooks and forward Terrance Williams II battling it out for the extra minutes for them to gobble up.
It all just left Barnes as the odd man out, but it will all work out in the long run.
Especially if he can find himself a role that the team needs him to thrive in. It does currently look like there’s an opening in Michigan for Barnes to step into.
Caleb Houstan chose to declare for the NBA Draft and got selected by the Orlando Magic so there’s starter minutes available.
On top of that, Eli Brooks is no longer on the roster. That’s two players that took his minutes last year that are just completely off the roster moving forward.
All that’s really left for Barnes to take the spot is to show consistent improvement throughout the year to get his opportunity on the court.
Last Full Season Before College
The last time that we saw Isaiah Michael Barnes come out and play a full season, he dominated the competition.
His senior year of high school saw him average 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game to led his squad to a wonderful 9-1 record and a first-place finish in the division.
As you could probably expect, it was this year that really got him onto the sights of numerous colleges, but he was only able to pull the trigger on Michigan during the entire process.
If Barnes gets playing time next year, maybe we could see a stat line similar to his recent season on the floor. Putting up 18 and eight every single game is certainly a way to raise your NBA draft stock.
