Mosi Barnes
High School Indianapolis Ritter, IN
Height and Weight 6'0 155lbs
Position Point Guard
Ratings #79 (G), #92 (CF), #122 (HS), #189 (PS)
Academically Eligible Yes
Status Signed
Player Summary ·
Player News ·
Game Stats ·
Season Stats ·
Honors ·
IHSAA Results
Mosi Barnes is a quick 6'0", 155 pound all-state senior from
Indianapolis Ritter HS. He plays at the point guard position and has signed
a national letter of intent to join the Boilers in August 1996. Barnes
strengths include his quickness, and his ability to run the floor and
break presses. He sees the floor well and is a good passer when he has to be.
His main role at Ritter has been to assume the role of scoring, which he does
very well. Barnes' weakness would be his size, listed anywhere from 5'7 to
6'0. During the NIKE camp in Indianapolis, he was having difficulty
shooting over guards that were much taller than himself. What he lacks in
size, he makes up for it in taking good care of the ball.
In the 1995-96 season, Barnes finished with a career total of 1,120
points as one of Indianapolis' top scorers. Barnes shot .496 from the field
(178 of 359) and .773 from the foul stripe (58 of 75).
In the 1994-95 season at Indianapolis Ritter, Barnes averaged 21.1
ppg as the starting PG, 3.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Barnes shot 41 percent
from both the field and the three-point line, and shot 72.2 percent from
the charity stripe. Barnes scored a career high 37 in a 115-102 loss to
Indianapolis Chatard. Indy Ritter finished the season with a record of 5-15.
Barnes played on Mack Gaddis' AAU national championship team in 1994.
In the 1993-94 season, Barnes averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds,
and 4.0 assists.
Other schools showing interest in Barnes included Illinois, Temple,
Louisville, Colorado, Indiana, and Stanford. Barnes has a GPA of 3.12/4.0
and has exceeded the minimum score for freshman eligibility on the SAT.
Keady on Barnes: "Mosi is a real good scorer, a point guard who can
shoot it. He's what I call a zipper. He takes care of the basketball and
loves to play. Mosi is going to be a very quick point guard, a waterbug
type who is all over the place."
Kendrick on Barnes: "Mosi plays like he is 6'3 the way he jumps.
He's cat quick. He's going to have to learn to play defense at this level."
6-24-96...I got an opportunity to speak with Mosi Barnes following
the Mackey AAU game. Barnes wasn't concerned with scoring in the
exhibition, just putting on a good show for the fans. "I can shoot it
from out there, but tonight was just playing a role," Barnes said.
"I did the job that everybody wanted done. I was just trying to get
everyone open for the dunks and stuff. But when push comes to shove
I can shoot the three, and shoot it of the dribble." Barnes'
outside touch wasn't really needed during the 103-62 romp, especially
when the team's center/power forward Gary McQuay was launching three
pointers from the arc. "I love it," commenting on Gary's 3 for 3 from
the perimeter, "that can do nothing but help our team." Barnes
wasn't surprised that McQuay made those shots. "People on the team
didn't think he could shoot it, but I've known him for four or
five years and I know he can shoot that shot," said Barnes. "That's
going to be a great aspect to our team next year."
At one point in the game, Jamaal Davis called that Barnes
would head to his left on a drive to the basket. Davis was right,
as Barnes drove to his left and dished underneath to Greg McQuay.
I asked him if he had played enough with Davis and Stephens for
them to be able to predict which way he was going to go on the
drive. "They were just guessing. Just luck. You know, they're young."
quipped Barnes with a smile on his face. He hoped that the two young
stars wouldn't get discouraged about thier most recent trip to Mackey
Arena. "They've got to realize that they're young, and we are all
veterans out here. We've done been through what they are going
through right now, recruiting and all that stuff," Barnes added.
"But they are going to grow, as people and as players. They're
going to be good players, and hopefully they will both come here.
I know Jamaal is supposed to, but we're not sure about Cam yet. If
they come, look for a national championship."
3-20-96...Mosi Barnes has been selected in the coaches poll as
as the metro-Indianapolis player of the year. He finished the season
scoring 21.0 ppg, following defeat to defending state champion Ben Davis.
Fellow Ritter player Derek Williams also received all-Indianapolis honors.
Barnes will wear the No. 1 jersey for the City squad in the annual City/
County All-Star Shootout April 20th. The game will be at Hinkle
Fieldhouse and will start at 6:30pm.
3-11-96...Mosi Barnes high school career ended at the hands of
Indianapolis powerhouse Ben Davis in the Ben Davis sectional 78-54.
Ritter finished the season at 14-6, the school's best record since the
14-6 season back in 1985. Coach Greg Crum will miss the four year player.
"The last four years -- even when he was a freshman -- we didn't get
pressed a whole lot, because he does such a great job of taking care
of the basketball," Crum said.
Like many of the other Purdue recruits, Mosi has been working on
his defense. "He did a lot better job defensively this year than in the
past," Crum said. "I know he talked to the Purdue coaches, and one of
the things he had to do was improve his defense to play at the Big10
level. It's not that he doesn't still have work to do, but he really
worked a lot harder at that. That shows maturity that he was willing
to do that."
1-20-95...Ritter, now 5-6, was defeated in the city semi-finals by
Cathedral 52-45 in overtime. Cathedral was unconscious from the line,
shooting 90% on 27-30. The team averaged 60% from the stripe coming in.
Both teams shot miserably from the field (Cathedral 10-38 and Ritter
19-56). Cathedral hit a key three and shot 7-8 from the stripe in OT
to seal the victory. "We beat them in every category but (freethrows),
said coach Crum. "We were 6 of 15 and that's horrible. We just didn't
spurt at the end. Defensively, I'm really happy other than we committed
too many fouls." Mosi Barnes shot a game-high 18 points in the mostly
defensive battle. (stats below)
1-20-95...With his strained right shoulder wrapped, Barnes scored
a game high 25 points to lead Ritter to its first city tournament semi-
final berth since 1989. Barnes was responsible for the drive that sealed
the 67-64 victory. With 13 seconds remaining and the score tied at 64,
Barnes received the inbounds, weaved to mid-court, and made a perfect
feed to a teammate for the winning bucket with 4 seconds left. "That's
just a good play by Mosi," said Ritter coach Greg Crum. "He makes a good,
athletic play by splitting a double-team, Strope does a good job running
the floor and we get two points." Barnes showed no signs of pain from
the shoulder and warmed up before the game by doing "windmill" motions
with his right arm. Ritter's next game will be against 9-2 Cathedral.
1-19-95...Mosi Barnes reportedly injured his right shoulder during
a scrimmage in practice this week. Although details on the severity are
not know, he is expected to play this Saturday against Tech High School
in the Indianapolis City Tournament.
1-7-95...A good point guard is expected to get the offense going
and dish the ball to the scorers on the floor. But when a point guard is
also expected to score, Barnes thinks that describes his abilities more
closely. Barnes has scored in double figures 39 of the 52 games he has
played in, and currently has a career total of 179 assists. "The thing
I think I can do is control the team," said Barnes. "I'm a pretty good
shooter...and a good passer." When asked what he needs to work on
before joining the Boilermakers next year, Mosi said "I have to work on
aggressiveness. I need to take my man to the basket instead of shoot."
Barnes' coach Greg Crum thinks he will fit in nicely with Purdue's highly
rated incoming class, "He gets everyone the ball. He makes everyone
happy." As of January 7, Barnes rankes the second best scorer in the
Indianapolis area with 23.8 ppg.
7-10-96...Barnes was seen as definitely quick in play during the
weekend at the Nike All-Star Camp, but wasn't impressive (see comments
above). He made good passes, but also some bad passes and and didn't hit
his shot.
Barnes played well enough however, to make the silver team that
consisted of the players selected as the 20th - 40th best. He played better
and made better passes. Also, his shot was falling, although it is not
sure how often Keady is going to let him take his fast-break three pointer
with no one under the basket. Keady watched almost all of this game.
Kendrick watched a little, but watched more of the game with the top juniors
on the other court.
7-12-95...Grasping the opportunity to show his stuff, recruit Mosi
Barnes joined 119 other star high school players from around the country in
Indianapolis this week for the Nike All-American camp.
Although Barnes is small, nobody can figure out just how small...or
tall he is. The program at the Spiece/AAU tournament listed him at 6'0".
However, the Nike program has him at 5'10", and some have said he looks to
be about 5'7". But whatever Barnes lacks in size, he makes up with hustle.
"It's intensity," Barnes said. "I've got to come out and do the same thing
every day. I've got to get used to that. Strength is a big factor, because
a lot of these guys are born strong. I wasn't born as big as some of these
guys."
Barnes admitted that he got off to a slow start in the camp. "I got
into the flow of things Sunday,'' Barnes said. "I haven't been hitting my
shots, but hitting shots isn't everything. I've got some assists and some
things like that. I'm picking it up as we go along." Barnes is also
learning what it is going to take to play in Big Ten Conference. "I'm
learning that you can never be too good,'' said Barnes. "I think I need to
work on every aspect of my game. I'll take it from there. I'll get better
and better as the years go on. I'm getting a lot of constructive criticism,
and I'm taking that to make me get better. I'll be OK. I'm not worried about
size."
Neither is veteran Ritter coach Greg Crum, whose starting lineup has
included Barnes for each of the past three seasons. "He sees the floor
really well, and he's a great passer when he has to be," Crum said. "For us,
he's a big scorer. A lot of people think that's all he can do, but he really
runs the floor on the fastbreak and gets it to the open people. He takes
care of the ball very, very well. He's had a little bit of trouble at the
Nike Camp against some of the guys that are bigger than him. But we really
haven't had to worry about a press in the four years that he's been here,
because he can break a press and get it up the floor."
Crum also is of the opinion that Barnes has the potential to score
well as a college player. "He does a heck of a job of being able to
penetrate and get up in the air and elevate for his jump shot," Crum said.
"At that point, the 'help' defense has to come, and I think he'll be able to
pass to the big guys."
In the interview, Barnes also expressed why he chose to attend Purdue.
He likes the Boilermakers' Final Four chances during the time he'll be a
Boilermaker. He's also looking forward to playing with Miller, Austin, Clay,
Robinson, Eldridge, Cardinal and possibly Cornell. "Hopefully we can do it,"
Barnes said. "Everybody that's going in there this year has a lot of talent,
and so do the guys that are coming back. I feel that we can go to the Final
Four and make a good statement within the next three years."
5-7-95...This guy is quick, and has a great shot. The program had
him listed 6'0, contrary to what I had earlier read, and he looked to me to be
taller than 5'8. I can see why Keady wants him, and went after him early.
Besides the one Saturday game, he was one of the best players on the floor in
each of the games he played.
DATE FG FGA FT FTA 3PM 3PA RB AS ST PTS
----------------------------------------------------
05-05-95 5 6 1 19 Won 96-67
05-06-95 6 6 2 24 Won 87-72
05-06-95 0 2 2 8 Won 91-65
05-06-95 7 0 4 26 Lost 61-64
12-21-95 32 Won 84- Manual 57
01-20-96 25 Won 67- Tech 64
01-20-96 8 17 1 2 1 6 18 Lost 45- Cathedral 52
02-09-96 13 Won 55- Brebeuf 53
02-10-96 25 Won 70- Adams Cent. 54
02-14-96 20 Won 67- Chatard 63
02-22-96 16 Won 68- Lebanon 61
02-27-96 19 Won 79- Speedway 74
03-01-96 19 Won 64- Northwest 59
03-02-96 5 17 8 8 0 4 18 Lost 54- Ben Davis 78
04-20-96 0 5 4 6 8 4 Lost 98- County AS 101
06-12-96 2 7 0 0 0 1 2 5 0 4 Won 103- Spiece 62
06-15-96 1 2 4 1 7 Lost 117- Illinois 132
Season thru PPG FG% FT% 3P% RPG APG SPG BPG RECORD RANK
----------------------------------------------------------------
12-15-95 28.5 .500 .750 1-2 --
01-10-96 23.8 4-4 --
01-23-96 22.4 5-6 --
01-29-96 22.3 5-7 --
02-06-96 23.3 7-7 --
02-14-96 22.4 11-7 --
02-25-96 21.3 12-8 --
95-96 season 21.0 .496 .773 3.1 3.5 2.0 14-9 --
95-96 season Metro-Indianapolis Player of the Year (Coaches)
Top40 Indiana Senior List (Hoosier Basketball Magazine)
Indiana All-State High Honorable Mention (AP)
Won vs. Speedway 79-74
Won vs. Indy Northwest 64-55
Lost vs. Ben Davis 54-78
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