George Mason is expected to host longtime target Richard Barron on campus June 28th – June 30th for his official visit. A 6’5 guard/wing hailing from Chicago, the St. Ignatius product has been on the Patriots radar since last July following an impressive performance at the Peach Jam, and nearly a year into his recruitment, Barron is preparing to see what Fairfax is all about, “I’m going into the visit with no expectations. I want to see what the campus has to offer, I’ve already built a great enough relationship with the coaches, now it’s just me seeing what the campus, and me being in Fairfax has to bring”.
After leading St. Ignatius on a historic run to the IHSA Final Four last season, Barron has continued his strong play, particularly within the last month, beginning with EYBL Session III which took place in Louisville, KY over Memorial Day weekend. Running with his MeanStreets squad, Barron showed off his well-known shooting ability, while utilizing his athleticism (a key area focus according to Barron) on the defensive end against some of the best prep talent in the country.
Credit Dan Gibbs of ny2lasports.com
Back with St. Ignatius for this most recent live period, Barron’s game took another step forward during the Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout a couple of weekends ago. With George Mason Assistant Coach Dennis Felton in attendance, Barron poured in 19 points while leading St. Ignatius to a 57-54 win over Lane Tech. Here is a quick scouting report/recap of that weekend from IllinoisHoopProspects.com:
Rich Barron (6’5 SG, 2023)
“The big bodied off guard had some nice flashes over the weekend. Shooting has become a huge piece of his offensive game, catching off kickouts ready to fire and hitting some shots from the mid-range. Barron has a solid mid-post game that is aided by his ability to hold his ground and make some turnarounds. He has numerous offers and had coaches in attendance.”
Finishing out the live period this past weekend, St. Ignatius took part in the Ridgewood Live Event, with Barron continuing his splendid summer, earning high praise from the likes of Matt McKay Jr, a former NBA scout who runs @_proinsight on twitter who identified Barron as a standout performer during the first two days of the event. When asked how he would rate his performance over the past couple of weekends, Barron says, “I think I played pretty well. I’m learning how to be even more aggressive since I’m the only returning starter from last year’s state final team”.
If Coach English were to add to his 4 Program Pillars of Toughness, Competitiveness, Work Ethic and Humility, I’d venture to say that Aggressiveness would be a safe bet for number 5. He consistently implores his players to shoot the open shot and attack the defense whenever possible. Throughout the rest of his summer with MeanStreets, and in his final season with St. Ignatius, Barron will have the opportunity to continue his development as a leader while growing more comfortable being the aggressor that he is working to become.
With DeVon Cooper, Victor Bailey Jr, and Saquan Singleton each having one year remaining with the Green & Gold, KE&Co. are on the hunt for backcourt talent in the 2023 class. Although no commitment timeline has been stated publicly, it will be interesting to see what the feedback is coming out of the visit and given the strong relationship that has been built over the past year, the Patriots look to be in a pretty good spot.
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