Joe’s Take: Sorry folks, Barnitz doesn’t fit into one neat role
Stop shoving Ohio Valley Dragon Kam Barnitz into a basketball box. Stop putting the sophomore on a repetitive track. PGH Buckeye Breakdown Saturday Games Stop taking away her possibilities. Stop robbing her of an ever-changing and bright future. And do…
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Continue ReadingStop shoving Ohio Valley Dragon Kam Barnitz into a basketball box.
Stop putting the sophomore on a repetitive track.
Stop taking away her possibilities.
Stop robbing her of an ever-changing and bright future.
And do all of it, right now.
She’s only a two-guard, who shoots 3s? Forever? For real?
Get real.
Throw out the old scouting report, far away from anyone’s gaze. “I work too hard to just be known as a 3-point shooter,” Barnitz said. Exactly. Try the in-the-gym-and-pumping-iron-whenever-she-can kind of hard, instead. Throw the old blood, sweat, and tears cliché in there for good measure.
Put simply, there’s not a minute of her free time that isn’t devoted to basketball. Take this summer for instance. In her opening months in the Ohio Valley Dragons’ organization, she’s repeatedly drawn praise and accolades for her performances.
Just this past weekend, in front of college coaches, her name became even more of a hot topic among college coaches. Almost as if she sensed the biggest of moments, she performed at the top of her game.
Making the weekend even better? She evenly dueled with Alabama’s No. 5 recruit Brooke Hallman. No really. This scrum equaled can’t miss basketball action.
The two traded assists and 3s back and forth in a game that was eventually won by the Dragons. No matter who struck first or how hard, the other struck back harder.
Barnitz hits one of her five 3s? Hallman answers right back with an assist or rebounds keeping her team right in the thick of things. Exchange ad nauseum. As if dueling Hallman wasn’t already enough, she put up an even better performance Friday in the championship game against a tough ETA Thunder squad.
For those unsure of why that is a big deal, the Thunder are under the umbrella of the West Virginia Thunder organization – AKA one of the top AAU girls’ basketball programs in the country. So, they are kind of a big deal.
“Everything was working. I was doing a little bit of everything and making moves and my teammates better,” Barnitz said. That might be an understatement. She helped everyone to their limits and then right past them quarter after quarter. Heck, her impact may have been the same on any Dragons on that day. Or any team for that matter.
She drove her group to new heights.
Just ask her how well her team is doing.
“I didn’t even expect us to do this good like I knew we were good but not THAT good,” she said. How can any coach turn down that kind of impact? You can’t unless you just don’t want your team running at maximum capacity. Having Barnitz play to her strengths will never hurt any group.
Will you see the same blossoming of her abilities this winter during the Fairland’s regular season?
Probably.
Just don’t expect her to play much point guard. Tomi Hinkle Tomi Hinkle 5'7" | CG Proctorville Fairland | 2023 State OH kind of has that position locked down at the moment. She’s not giving it up, nor should she. Instead, expect Barnitz to move around between the 2 and 3, taking advantage of her different forms of attack.
Talk about a sneaky advantage.
Her sweet and smooth drives part defenders in the paint, much like OV teammate Allie Daniels Allie Daniels 6'1" | PF Spring Valley | 2025 State WV parts the paint on her way to a rebound. Her ability to see the floor affects a game in much the same way Hinkle’s ability helps her stand out from the crowd. And last but certainly not least, that attitude to keep getting better is actually pretty darn contagious.
So, folks, erase whatever plans you might have for Barnitz.
Yes, I am talking to you high school coaches and everyone else.
She doesn’t fit them … and she never will.