By Paul Gotham
BUFFALO, NY – Near the ten-minute mark in the first half of Sunday afternoon’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup between the Canisius Golden Griffins and Siena Saints, Billy Baron connected for three from the top of the key. The senior point guard made a simple exchange with teammate Josiah Heath, found some room to move on the perimeter, stepped into his shot and connected.
Less than a quarter of the game in the books and Baron had equaled his point total from Friday night’s contest. Thirty seconds later, he surpassed that output when he drilled another trey.
Canisius led 33-15 en route to a 93-78 victory over the Saints and a 2-0 record in the MAAC.
Baron hit five of his first six shots on his way to going 7-of-15 for 21 points. The 6-2 guard also dished out a career-high 13 assists while committing just three turnovers.
In contrast, Friday night Baron tallied just nine points but handed out seven helpers without a turnover in an 82-67 win over St. Peter’s.
If nothing else, the senior showed how less can be more.
Coming into the weekend he ranked 31st in the nation with 21.5 points per game. The 3-3 Golden Griffins were scoring at a 70 point per game clip. Baron the scorer recognized what defenses were giving him during the first weekend of conference play and seamlessly shifted to a facilitator’s role. He averaged 15 while his team increased its output to more than 87 per contest.
His effect did not go unnoticed by the opposing coaches.
“Baron’s a great player,” said Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos. “Baron has a chance to play in the NBA. I think Billy Baron could be a backup point guard in the NBA. He really knows how to play and stuff.”
Patsos, in his first year with Siena, spent nine seasons coaching Loyola, Maryland. He took a one-win Loyola team to the NCAA Tournament in his eighth year at the helm.
Prior to that, Patsos spent 13 seasons as an assistant under Gary Williams at the University of Maryland. A span in which the Terrapins made 11 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament including seven Sweet Sixteen appearances and consecutive Final Four trips culminating with the 2002 National Championship. He worked with current NBA player Steve Blake, and he got an up-close view of stars such as Chris Paul and Tim Duncan.
“Billy Baron is better than a lot of people think,” Patsos continued. “He’s got a lot of talent. He can shoot. He knows the game.”
Baron scored 13 as Canisius tallied its highest one-half offensive output in more than three decades.
In the second half, he made just two shots from the floor and went 3-of-4 from the free throw line. But he dished out five assists.
“Being a willing passer is underrated, especially when you’re the best player on the team,” Patsos added.
And that is what Baron did two days earlier against St. Peter’s: be a willing passer. On a night when St. Peter’s clogged the lane with every attempt to slow down the pre-season conference player of the year, Baron let his teammates take advantage of the opportunity.
“Billy Baron was excellent finding his teammates,” said St. Peter’s head coach John Dunne. “He doesn’t need to score points to obviously have a huge impact on the game. He can affect the game in so many different ways.”
Lost in the numbers were the times when Baron produced free throws for his teammates who were fouled in the act of shooting.
“Baron set the tone of the game,” Dunne added. “Our plan was to not let him score and to make him work really, really hard. He found guys. He found his teammates. We ran into a juggernaut tonight, for sure. He’s player of the year.”
The 57 points in the first half against Siena is the largest one-half output since the Griffs scored 63 in 20 minutes against Maine on January 10th, 1979.
Baron scored 13 in that first stanza and his eight assists led to 21 points.
“My teammates made me look really good today,” Baron said. “Yeah, I got them the ball, but those guys were hitting shots.”
Canisius meets Big 4 UB Wednesday night at the First Niagara Center. The game is the second of a doubleheader with Niagara and Davidson set to tipoff at 6 p.m.
Paul Gotham is the founder, owner, editor and lead writer at Pickin’ Splinters. Paul is the Communications and Media Director of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He is a contributor at USA Today and member of the USBWA. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PickinSplinters.
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