Barton brothers blowing up in D.C.

Those in the talent-rich Washington D.C. area have been signing the praises of sophomore shooting guard Will Barton all season long. After further investigation, it is easy to understand why the 6-foot-5 sophomore from National Christian Academy is being touted as one of the next top prospects from the area.

National Christian head coach Trevor Brown has coached some big time players in his time and by the sound of it, Barton is looking like he's next in line.

"I don't like to do this but he reminds me a lot of Kevin Durant, when I had Kevin here when he was a freshman," Brown said.

"He can just score in so many ways. It's hard to keep up with him when he's scoring like that. That's the thing that made Kevin so special. He might get a three on one possession. Then he might get a tap in. The next possession, he might get one in the mid-range. The next, it might be straight to the basket. That's how Will scores a lot of his points, off of a lot of different ways. We think he's the closest thing to Kevin since Kevin left here."

In the last seven games, Brown said Barton is averaging 25 points a game and scoring in a variety of ways.

High majors are interested. With four-star junior big Dante Taylor on the roster, Barton has watched his recruitment take on a similar feel.

"Everyone that comes in to see Dante really loves [Barton]," Brown said. "There are already a lot high-majors on him and he's only a sophomore. I don't let him get too caught up in all of that though because he's young. But he's a big time player. I'll tell you that."

Maryland, Pittsburgh and Georgetown were mentioned by Brown as those that have shown the most interest so far. Maryland and Georgetown saw Barton, and Taylor, in action on Monday.

Will's younger brother, Antonio Barton, is also a Division I prospect. Also a class of 2010 prospect, Antonio has the makings of a scoring point guard that can play at the mid-major level (or higher).

"With Antonio, he's already 6-2 and he's a point guard and he doesn't have to grow a bit to be a pretty high-level point guard in college. That's the thing I like about him," Brown said. "[Antonio] has great size and he shoots the ball just as well [as Will]. He doesn't score as many different ways as Will does."

The Barton brothers are getting better, Brown says. One is being compared to Kevin Durant by one in the know and the other has already been tabbed as a Division I point guard. That is something to sing praises about.