SCOTTSDALE β Alex Barcelloβs team was up by more than 30 points in the second half on Friday night, but he was still playing as if it were close.
He was hustling back on defense, prepared to dive for loose balls and driving to the rim with full force.
At this point, Corona del Sol coach Neil MacDonald knows the only way to calm Barcello down, to slow the motor, id to skip cruise control and go straight to park, right to the bench.
Barcello played just three quarters of Fridayβs game against Moreau Catholic, a blowout, but still managed 28 points on 12 of 19 shooting, with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. He added another 31 points in a win over Christ the King on Saturday.
βWhen heβs on the court, thatβs the way he plays,β MacDonald said. βThereβs no letup. Thatβs just the way he is, so thatβs what we expect. Once we take him out, we shut him down, but until then the job is to keep your foot on the gas until we tell you to go rest.β
Barcello is an Arizona commit, the future of the Wildcats point-guard position, which more than likely will lead you to The Comparison.
Just say it already.
Sean Miller has.
βHe compares me to T.J. McConnell a lot,β Barcello said.
Letβs get this out of the way now β McConnell and Barcello are similar in their demeanor, their hustle, their energy on the court.
βI love bringing the energy,β Barcello said, βI love getting the crowd involved, getting the gym hyped up, and then getting Wβs.β
McConnell went 67-9 in two years as Arizonaβs starting point guard, with two appearances in the Elite Eight and a Pac-12 title.
Barcello has played since his freshman year at Corona del Sol and has guided the Aztecs to a 88-11 record and two state championships. He is seeking a third to close out his prolific high school career.
The comparisons stop there because, in terms of basketball skills that donβt involve the words βheart,β βhustleβ or βpassion,β Barcello and McConnell are quite different.
In fact, Miller hasnβt really had a point guard like Barcello, who also can play off-ball as a shooting guard. And thatβs the biggest difference β Barcelloβs best skill might be his ability to shoot 3-pointers.
Heβs not quite a pass-first point guard like McConnell, but heβs not really shoot-first either, like Mark Lyons, Nic Wise and MoMo Jones. Heβs averaging 26.5 points per game this season.
Friday, Barcello made pull-up jumpers, shots off the dribble and off the pass.
He frequently displayed a tendency to jump in front of the 3-point arc for shots, something Miller is certain to fix at the next level.
Barcelloβs comfort with his teammates and in running Corona del Solβs offense allows him to attempt a chunk of no-look passes each game, and most of them land.
That ability, to find his teammates, to put them in position to score, is the first skill MacDonald noticed in Barcello when he showed up as a freshman at Corona .
Then, the team was filled with Division I talent, including Oregon point guard Casey Benson and four other Division I athletes.
βWe noticed a lot about him, but that first team he played on was so loaded with talent,β MacDonald said. βHe saw passes that nobody else saw and he made passes nobody else saw and he made it look effortless and easy.
βFrom Day 1. He found guys. Thatβs pretty rare (for a freshman). Heβs a special player.β
Since then, his shot β which was already spot-on, MacDonald said β has improved exponentially, heβs grown to 6 foot 2, taller than any point guard at Arizona of the Miller era with the exception of 6-3 Josiah Turner, who lasted just one season here.
And thereβs also this:
Barcello can dunk.
βHis vertical leap has increased 2-3 inches, at least,β MacDonald said. βNow he can finish, he can dunk the ball with two hands behind his head.β
In August, he tweeted out a photo of himself with the five schools he was considering for college. The schools werenβt the eye-catching part of the picture β though UA, Butler, Indiana, Virginia and Stanford are no slouches β but the picture of himself during a game, blood running down his face, competitive fire in his eyes, was.
By the end of the month, he committed during an official visit, and after Arizona finished a practice, Barcello was already enjoying himself in the locker room with some of his future teammates.
The video is on Twitter β Barcello started breaking it down, dancing, much to the delight of the Wildcats.
He laughed recalling the moment.
βThey were all dancing, I kinda just hopped in and they got surprised,β Barcello said. βWe were just having fun with it.
βIt showed we were bonding, that we all get along. It was special.β
McConnell was known to dance from time to time, too.
That comparison will always be there, and Barcello doesnβt mind.
βItβs very special,β he said. βThatβs what (Miller) wants in a point guard, thatβs what he told me he wants.
βWe have some similarities, but weβre different.β
