Israel Barnes emerges as new star in the City League (+video)

In the City League’s oldest gym, a new star is emerging.

He is Southeast sophomore Israel Barnes, a transformative player for fourth-year coach Melvin Herring and the Buffaloes.

Barnes (6-foot-3) is a guard by trade but has done a bit of everything for Southeast this season. He averages 19.1 points and 6.8 rebounds and has become the perfect complement to senior guard Jerrick Harding, a two-time City League scoring champion.

Southeast is 11-2 headed into Tuesday’s showdown against visiting East, the defending City League and Class 6A champion and one of two teams, along with Northwest, to beat Southeast this season.

Barnes transferred to Southeast, where his father, Todd Barnes, is in his third year as an assistant coach after spending his freshman year at Sunrise Christian Academy.

“We knew, coming in, what caliber of a player that he is,” Herring said. “And when you have a player like that, who is also a good fit for your program and has a high IQ for basketball … he can adjust to any style we play or any team we play.”

Israel Barnes has known Harding since the two were in elementary school and played Biddy basketball together.

“I wanted him to come his freshman year, actually, but it didn’t happen,” said Harding, who averages 25.2 points. “Having him on the court takes a lot of pressure off me. I know that I can give it to him and he can create.”

The City League, and Southeast, seem like a natural fit for Barnes. His father played for South in the mid-1980s before going on to play for Independence Community College and Texas-San Antonio. Todd’s younger brother, Val Barnes, was a City Leaguegreat at South and went on to play for Butler Community College and Iowa. Todd Barnes and Herring, who played for Heights, have also known each other since they were children.

That Israel is playing his first season at Southeast in the building’s last year — and the last year for its dimly-lit, shoebox gym — isn’t lost on him, either. The new Southeast High, a $60 million project and the district’s first new, comprehensive high school in nearly 40 years, opens in August.

“It’s special to be the last team to play in this gym,” Israel said. “We’re trying to end things with a bang and look forward to playing in the new gym. During the summer, I was at Southeast all the time, at all the practices and pickup games and really enjoyed it. Me and coach Mel and my father created a bond, and I was cool with all the players, so that helped me make my decision to come here.”

It’s a decision that has helped change the balance of power in the City League. Southeast is tied for second with East behind Heights, which has lost only to Southeast, 69-51 on Jan. 5 behind 23 points and eight rebounds from Barnes. It’s not untypical for him to play the first half of a game on the wing, then move to the high post for the second half, as he did last week in a 74-54 win over South.

“It’s very unique, especially on the high school level,” Herring said. “To be 6-foot-3, you’re caught between the inside and the outside, but with dad being a guard, he’s taught Israel to be a compete player. We think he’s just going to get taller, and on the next level, wherever he goes, he’ll be a guard. He understands how to face the basket and make entry passes, and he understands how to play on the inside.”

The next level for Barnes is a compelling question. Matt Suther, the founder of Barnes’ AAU team, MOKAN Elite, says he projects as a Division I player, but with two seasons of high school basketball left to play it’s too early to say exactly where he might end up in that spectrum.

“It’s hard to say for almost any sophomore,” Suther said. “He’s obviously a guard, so now it’s just to see how much he refines his skills and if he grows some more.”

The message from Herring and Todd Barnes is even simpler — have fun and do the right things.

“My dad, his whole thing has always been to just put 100 percent into anything I do, not just basketball,” Barnes said. “I’m obsessed with the game, sure, but I also really enjoy going to church with my family and spending time with my family. I’m really good at school, too, and I enjoy that, enjoy doing that work and I look forward to going to college.

“My job right now is just to to do as much as I can to get better, and hopefully get some of these schools and college coaches to look at me. They tell me my future is bright, but to enjoy my life right now and do as much as I can right now to help my team win and enjoy my time here.”

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Israel Barnes emerges as new star in the City League (+video)."