Barrett hits five 3-pointers as VU gets first win of season
Valparaiso freshman Connor Barrett may have lost game time, but he never lost his shot.
The 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Wilmette in Chicago’s northern suburbs suffered a fractured kneecap in his left leg and a stress fracture in his right foot while in high school at Loyola.
Through it all, Barrett said he didn’t lose the ability to hit the outside shot.
“It feels great to put all those injuries behind me,” he said. “It’s good to have all that in my past now so I can move forward and get better every day.”
Barrett flexed his strongest basketball muscle in his home debut for VU on Sunday, hitting five 3-pointers during the Crusaders’ first win of the season, an 85-45 victory over NAIA opponent Judson.
Coach Matt Lottich said Barrett’s practice efforts were rewarded with playing time. He noted VU’s players — especially the incoming freshmen — were affected by the lack of a preseason schedule.
“It all starts in practice, and Connor earned some opportunities there,” Lottich said. “One thing we’ve missed is those exhibition games. As a coach, you’re still trying to figure out all this stuff early on, and we didn’t have the luxury of those games this year. We’ve tried to give guys opportunities, and Connor’s taken the approach of trying to earn minutes.”
Barrett, who finished with 17 points, was not the only VU freshman to flourish on Sunday. Classmate Jacob Ognacevic, a 6-8 forward from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, led all scorers with 20 points and tied Barrett for the team lead with six rebounds.
Lottich said Ognacevic had a similar reputation as a strong perimeter shooter, but Ognacevic’s early performances have exceeded Lottich’s expectations.
“We knew he could shoot, but we didn’t know he could shoot this well,” Lottich said. “He’s been shooting at about 60% from three at practice. And he hasn’t shown it yet, but he’s also an effective player with his back to the basket.”
Ognacevic said his shooting ability was a major offseason focus. With life grinding to a halt during the spring and summer because of the coronavirus pandemic, Ognacevic said he made daily trips to his high school gym.
“When the quarantine hit, I got a lot more shots up,” Ognacevic said. “I was in there every day with a few of my teammates, just putting in a lot of work. My jump shot really took the next step.”
Guard Sheldon Edwards, another VU freshman, added 10 points in the win, and the emergence of that freshman trio allowed Lottich to rest some of his more veteran players.
Junior guard Daniel Sackey started but played just 15 minutes, while senior forward Mileek McMillan — a Merrillville product — played just 10 minutes, allowing their bodies to recover from a 68-61 loss at Purdue on Friday.
“It’s hard to put into words how physical the game against Purdue was,” Lottich said. “If it was close (against Judson), those guys were going to be in there. But we wanted to get some of our younger guys the opportunities so we could rest them.”