ISA Academy was one of several teams that traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to participate in the Phenom National Showcase this year. A team that has talent at all levels on the floor, several key prospects stood caught our eyes. One, in particular, that should garner more attention was 2021 6’6 Andy Barba.
Once committed to Miami (OH), the junior prospect has several intriguing factors to his game that coaches would like. His high school coach would describe him as a “big, elite shooter with sneaky athleticism and rebounds well for his position.” That is exactly what he showed in Raleigh.
Barba plays incredibly smooth and oozes confidence with his outside game, as he showcased his perimeter shooting on multiple occasions. But much like what his coach said, he is much more than just a shooter on the court. Sporting a strong 6’6 frame, his athleticism, IQ, and ability to impact the game outside of shooting is what brings even more intrigue.
“I would describe myself as an all-around player who can space the floor with my shot, can make my teammates better with my passing, can get out in transition, and can guard multiple positions on the floor,” Barba told Phenom Hoops.
Barba recently de-committed and schools are quickly getting in touch with him and expressing interest his way. Missouri State offered shortly after, now joining his list of Tennessee State, Youngstown State, Kent State, Columbia, and Duquesne.
Outside of his offers, Loyola-Chicago, Princeton, Tulane, Rutgers, Dayton, and Washington State have all started to come his way as well.
“Rutgers and Loyola-Chicago had me up for visits and all of the schools have just been telling me about their programs and showing their interest in me,” Barba said. “They have been coming to some workouts and practices at school as well.
I went to Dayton last weekend (Nov. 8-10) and watched a game. Other than that, no other visits have been set up so far.”
Barba was a sleeper in the eyes of Phenom Hoops coming into the loaded event at Ravenscroft but after what we saw, he shouldn’t be a sleeper to anyone now.