Barrett is second Howard commit this week

James Barrett is not going to be playing college ball this season, but he already knows where he'll suit up next year.

"James did verbally commit to Sam Houston State," said Howard head coach Mark Adams. "He was there over the weekend and had a great visit."

A strange set of circumstances will result in Barrett, ranked as the No. 40 juco prospect in the nation, taking a redshirt at Howard this season. He had played as a freshman at Barstow college in California. After injuring an ankle, the Howard coaches applied for, but were denied, a hardship year for Barrett. That means he will sit out this year so he will have two to play for the Bearkats.

"Barstow is not in the NJCAA's jurisdiction," Adams said. "We would have had to go to California. They said we could have challenged the decision, but we didn't want to do that and jeopardize his second year at a Division One school."

As for that Division One school, Sam Houston may have gotten a major steal.

"If he was able to play this year, if he'd had another year like last year, he could have been one of the best junior college players in the country," Adams said.

Barrett averaged 12 points and 7.4 rebounds as a sophomore at Howard.

"He made all-region as a freshman," Adams said. "He came in here a little bit unkown and lost about 20 pounds. He is a solid 240...His best basketball is in front of him."

Barrett had some interest at higher levels than Sam Houston, but found a fit he liked with the program.

"We weren't able to get that hardship year and that sort of limited his exposure," Adams said. "At the same time, he is very excited about Sam Houston Staet. He liked it and wanted to play there. He had a lot of mid-majors and two or three high Division One scools talking to him a little bit. He might have goneto a higher level, but Sam Houston State is a great school, they've got a good coaching staff and he was real impressed with their facilities and their players."

Barrett is the second Howard player to make a commitment this week. Point guard Charlie Burgess will play for Bob Knight at Texas Tech next season.

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