Forward Barr Still a Work in Progress

Nothing Jeremy Barr does smacks of urgency, so maybe his USC teammates should not have been surprised Saturday when the freshman calmly knocked down a pair of free throws in the closing minutes of a victory over Stanford.

“He stepped up and made two big ones after going 0 for the month of December,” Coach Tim Floyd said of the forward, who had made 18.2% (four of 22) of his free throws before his pair gave the Trojans breathing room in an 82-71 victory.

The 6-foot-8, 265-pound Barr also unveiled several nice-looking post moves against Stanford and California, including a nifty spin move, a one-handed turnaround jumper and a baby hook shot.

“They were [moves] I used in high school, I just don’t receive the ball in the post that much,” Barr said. “When I do get it inside, I try to use my strength to my advantage.”

Defense and rebounding continue to progress at a more measured rate for the native of the Bahamas.

Barr immigrated to the United States in the summer of 2002 and has been playing basketball for a little more than three years.

Barr is averaging 4.2 points but only 1.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes. His numbers must improve for the Trojans to stay afloat in the Pacific 10 Conference in the wake of an injury to freshman forward RouSean Cromwell that is expected to sideline him until near the end of the conference schedule.

“I think he has the want-to,” Floyd said of Barr’s rebounding. “He plays the game erect right now, and we’re trying to get him lower and on the balls of his feet more to where he can be more reactive to the ball coming off the board.”

Said Barr: “That’s a big part of it, knowing which side of [the backboard] it’s coming off because sometimes I’ll be on the wrong side and it goes the other way. So I’ve been trying to work on that a lot, being in good position to rebound.”