Barber Shopping

One of the nation's top prospects missed the July period with an injury, and is thus a bit of a mystery man for many on the recruiting scene. We caught up with 6-foot-7, 220-pound power forward Korvotney Barber from Manchester (Ga.) High on Tuesday night, and he clued us in on the latest developments in his recruiting process.

Barber's list is holding steady, with Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky in hot pursuit. After visiting Georgia early, he made the trek to Auburn this past weekend.

"I had been on the campus before and I've talked to the coaches, but that was the first time that I got to meet the other players on the team," Barber said. "I enjoyed the trip."

This weekend he will head to Kentucky for Midnight Madness celebrations, and he's looking forward to that. But after that, he's not sure what the next move will be.

"I don't have any other visits planned right now. I'm just going to sit down with my mom and dad and try to make the best choice for me," Barber said. "I think that playing time is the key factor. Most of the schools are saying the same thing - that if I work hard, I'll be able to play right away. It's a tough decision."

Barber is playing it really close to the vest in terms of revealing a leader, or leaders, insisting that he likes all of them "the same". The closest he would come to showing any favoritism at all was in discussing the home visit presentations.

"Coach (Tubby) Smith had the best presentation. He was real cool. But all of them were good."

Barber broke his wrist at the NBPA Camp in June, and he did not get to play in front of coaches during the July evaluation period.

"I can't wait for the season to start. It was very frustrating not being able to play this summer, but the little time I did play helped me a lot."

Indeed, Korvotney was the big discovery of the spring, where he dominated the competition with his constant effort and freakish athleticism. At the NPBA Camp Barber was the top overall performer in attendance before injuring himself. He's a dominant rebounder and can flat-out fly in transition. Very surprising was his ability to shoot from the perimeter and put it on the floor, but that is an area that he'll need to improve in college.

"I need a little more work on my perimeter game to become a complete player," Barber said.

He averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds, and eight blocked shots per game last season at Manchester. He's doing well in the classroom, but he hasn't yet achieved a qualifying SAT score. He took the test again last weekend before his Auburn visit.