Wednesday, October 07, 2009 — SOUTH KINGSTOWN — In college basketball circles, when most heard the news about Billy Baron's college decision, the reaction likely was "So, what else did you expect?"
The second son of URI basketball coach Jim Baron, Billy Baron announced over the weekend that he will commit to the Rams next month and begin playing in the 2010-11 season.
Those looking from afar will not be surprised. Jimmy Baron just finished one of the all-time great careers in a Rhody uniform. In many quarters, it was assumed his brother would follow him, just as he did at Hendricken and, this year, at Worcester Academy.
The truth is, though, that the decision took some time. While Jimmy Baron never really considered playing for anyone other than his dad, Billy Baron did.
"It wasn't easy," Billy Baron related. "For a while, I didn't think about going to URI. I thought I was going to go away for college."
There were several factors that made his situation more complicated than his brother's. For one, there was the matter of being his own man. By going to URI, Billy Baron knows that he will spend four years being compared to his brother, who is now playing professionally in Turkey.
"We are two different players," Baron said. "I realize that what my brother did put him in a great spot. He's living a great life now. But I have to work on the things I do, not try and be him."
The younger Baron is prepared for comparisons. But he insists he wants to be compared in only one way.
"I want to be like him. I want to be the best person I can be, like he's done, not just be the best basketball player," he said. "I don't know if you're going to see me taking shots from the CVS sign, but I'm going to work as hard as I can to be the best I can be."
The younger Baron is not the pure shooter his brother is. He is not likely to threaten his brother's record as the all-time Atlantic 10 leader in 3-pointers made. The younger Baron is more of a combo guard than a pure shooter. He is built a bit stronger, might be more athletic and has a quicker first step. An inch shorter than his brother at 6-foot-2, he played both guard positions in a stellar career at Hendricken.
In AAU competition this past summer, Billy Baron played a lot of point as well as the off guard. And he excelled, to the point where scouting services now have him ranked in the top 15 prospects in New England, and in the top five among guards.
That helped lead to another complicating factor in his decision. Because he played so well on the summer circuit, where more college scouts saw him play, his stock rose. When scouts inquired, Baron did nothing to scare them away. As recently as several weeks ago, he told anyone who inquired that his college situation was "wide open."
He was contacted by Marquette, Georgia Tech, Stanford and Vanderbilt, among others. He made unofficial visits to Rutgers and Davidson.
All this came as family members spoke about how the situation for the last four years for Jim and Jimmy Baron was not all smooth sailing. As Jimmy Baron's four years wound down, both he and his father spoke openly, for the first time, about how their relationship had been strained at times during Jimmy's Rhody career.
The father went well into his son's career before he became comfortable praising him as he would other players. He seemed to go overboard at times not wanting to show favoritism toward his son, so he pushed his son harder.
Jimmy Baron is much like his father in that he is a workaholic, someone who feels that the best way to attack any problem is to work, and then work harder, and then work harder still. The fact that he and his father are so much alike gave both difficulty at times dealing with their situation. Jimmy Baron has said that he did not hide the strained situation from his brother. He said that at times he told his brother that it might be easier for him if he thought about going elsewhere.
Talking openly about the issue seemed to help resolve it. In the second half of Jimmy Baron's final season in Kingston, he and his father seemed to finally get comfortable, finally enjoyed being able to spend so much time together.
"I realize they had struggles," Billy Baron said. "But that's just something that's going to push me to be the best I can be. My dad is going to push me, I know that. It's going to be rough at times, I know that."
Billy Baron broke several bones in his thumb late this summer and had to sit out three weeks. He still has a splint on the thumb, but he expects to be ready to play when Worcester begins its season Nov. 12th. He feels ready for a good year there under coach Ed Reilly at Worcester, and then four years in Kingston. He wants scouts to know that he no longer is thinking about going away to college. It's URI for him.
"This is where I want to be," he said.
pkenyon @projo.com