I guess the 2022 PBA Draft has leveled up with the entry of NBA G-League veteran Sedrick Barefield.
The 6'2 point guard made waves for the Oklahoma City Blue and in Europe before declaring his intention to move his talents to the greater Metropolitan Manila area.
That's nice.
Barefield played NCAA Division 1 ball for both the Southern Methodist University Mustangs and the Utah Utes.
In his first season with the OKC Blue, Barefield averaged 9.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 36 games. His numbers dropped when he became a late-season entry for the squad with 2.1 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 8 games because he started the season playing for the Greek club Apollon Patras.
At 25, teams can invest in his services. Blackwater should want him as the top pick of the draft as he can work for them as an SG/SF and despite having Joshua Munzon, Terrafirma would welcome Barefield if they get the opportunity.
The only thing I am worried about with these Fil-Ams is the rationale for their entry. The fact of the matter is, most Fil-Ams play in the PBA for prestige and profit. Nowadays though, the PBA isn't as "PBA" as it once was with kids moving elsewhere to become Asian imports and most fans looking at the international situation before giving a damn in the local hoop scene. During the Fil-Am invasion of 1999, these guys were treated like royalty but two decades later, they aren't as popular anymore.
Blackwater and Terrafirma are classic examples of having the means and squandering it perfectly. Blackwater let Bobby Ray Parks go and Terrafirma is no different with Christian Standhardinger. I feel losing Roosevelt Adams and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser is penance for Team Dyip and perhaps Barefield is going to be their Blackwater version if and when he decides that he needs to have a championship at some point.
But it's going to take one generational Fil-Am to strike a chord or a nerve. At the start of the 2001 PBA season, we never knew that Mark Caguioa would turn into awesomeness personified. The problem with these Fil-Ams is that they land on teams with little to no championship promise. With Jason Brickman skipping the draft and the possibility of Justine Baltazar snubbing it as well, the current draft setup is as if the league went back to 1997.
Barefield could be the player we wanted. Forget the fact that he'll probably play for the national team as a naturalized import. Maybe he can take Blackwater out of conduit gutter hell and become the top dogs of the Philippine Cup.
I mean... is San Miguel going to package either Marcio Lassiter or Chris Ross for the pick?