M. basketball: Alumnus goes to L.A. Clippers

Look who moved in next door. Well, about 15 miles down the road,
down by 11th and Figueroa, anyway.

It’s Matt Barnes.

As he sits at his locker at Staples Center, Barnes sighs,
looking at his Clippers jersey, remembering what has gotten him
there ““ the many nights spent playing in front of half-filled
auditoriums that barely would rival a pre-season game at Pauley
Pavilion, the result of being passed over by numerous NBA teams
over the last two years.

“It’s definitely frustrating when you’re
playing well and you think you should get called up and you
don’t,” Barnes said.

“But, you know, you’ve just got to stick with
it.”

His road to becoming an all-around threat with the Los Angeles
Clippers was a hard-fought one.

After completing a four-year run at UCLA, Barnes was drafted by
the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round of the NBA Draft. He was
traded on draft day to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who released him
only two weeks before the start of the regular season.

He then headed to North Carolina to play with the Fayetteville
Patriots of the NBA Developmental League. Back in September he was
given another shot at the NBA but once again was ousted from
training camp, this time by the Seattle Supersonics.

He began his second tour of duty in basketball’s minor
leagues with the Long Beach Jam of the refurbished American
Basketball Association, which features a who’s who of
hopefuls and NBA rejects looking for another shot.

Persistence and dedication are two virtues that led the UCLA
alumnus to be honored as winner of the J.D. Morgan Memorial Award
for being the most outstanding “team” player in
2001.

No stranger to big games, Barnes played in the Sweet 16 in three
of his four years for the Bruins, including a 23-point effort in a
hard-fought loss to Missouri in 2002.

Soon after playing that game he was recognized as one of the
team’s most valuable players. It was a fitting way to
recognize the effort put forth by Barnes.

“More than anything (playing at UCLA helped me) just to
grow up as a man and just become a well-rounded basketball
player,” Barnes said.

“It was probably the most fun time of my life, so
I’m always going to miss UCLA,” he added.

After a few months with the Long Beach Jam, Barnes finally got
the call Jan. 19. The Clippers needed a replacement for injured
swingman Bobby Simmons.

Barnes played 20 minutes in his first game, against the
Sacramento Kings, notching four points, eight rebounds, and three
assists in the type of game that typified his reputation as an
all-around contributor while with the Bruins. In the next game,
against the Golden State Warriors, Barnes scored 13 while grabbing
10 rebounds.

The two games were a nice way to earn his stripes and showed
what he would bring to the table the rest of the year.

“They were definitely the biggest games I played,”
he said. “I just wanted to go out there and bring a spark
and, you know, play hard.”

His current teammates have certainly noticed.

“He (brings) a lot to the team,” said Eddie House, a
Barnes’ counterpart at Arizona from 1999-2000.”Guys
went down; he stepped up. He’s played really well, battling
on the boards, (guarding) a whole different bunch of
people.”

“He’s a great player from what I’ve
seen,” Marko Jaric said. “His body is
unbelievable.”

Playing in Fayetteville and Long Beach, Barnes has basically
taken basketball’s version of the fire escape to make it to
the NBA. So he understands not to take anything for granted.

“It’s a lot of hard work, (but) I’m not
officially in yet, so it’s still a trial process,” he
said. “I’m still going at it every night, playing as
hard as possible to prove myself.”

After two tough years in the NBA’s minor leagues, Barnes
finally has reached basketball’s penthouse, a place he hopes
he will not soon be leaving.