Earl Daniel Barron Jr. (born August 14, 1981) is an American professionalbasketball former player and coach. He playedcollege basketball for theUniversity of Memphis and had stints in the NBA with multiple teams.
Barron playedcollege basketball at theUniversity of Memphis from 2000 to 2003 under coachesJohnny Jones andJohn Calipari. He averaged 7.8 points per game over his time at Memphis and started just under half (63) of his 128 career games.
In 2001–02, Barron's Tigers won the2002 National Invitation Tournament and the regular seasonC-USA title. In Barron's senior year in 2002–03, the Tigers were ranked 19th nationally in the final AP poll and played in the2003 NCAA tournament, losing toArizona State University in the first round.
A 7'0"center from theUniversity of Memphis, he was neverdrafted by an NBA team. He began his professional career with theTurkish team Tuborg Pilsener in 2003 before joining theHuntsville Flight of theNBA Development League (D-League) in March 2004.[1] He spent the 2004 pre-season with theOrlando Magic, but was waived before the regular season began.[2] In 2005, he played with theRed Bull Barako in thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA).
He returned to the U.S. to play with theMiami Heat in theSummer League, signing on August 8.[3] Barron played for the Heat for three seasons. After 82 games in Miami, which included a stint with theFlorida Flame, Barron was not re-signed by the Heat. In August 2008, he signed a one-year, $2 million deal with theItalian teamGMAC Bologna. His stint in Italy was cut short because of an ankle injury which forced him to leave the team in November 2008.[4] In March 2009, he was signed by theSioux Falls Skyforce and was immediately traded to theLos Angeles D-Fenders.[5]
On September 28, 2009, Barron was signed by theNew Orleans Hornets to their training camp roster,[6] but failed to make the roster and was waived on October 21, 2009.[7] He then returned to the D-League and was traded by the D-Fenders to theIowa Energy in November 2009.[8] He was selected to the2010 D-League All-Star Game played during the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend. He scored a game-high 20 points for the Eastern Conference in the 81–98 loss to the Western Conference.[9]
On April 2, 2010, he was signed to a 10-day contract by theNew York Knicks.[10] On April 6, 2010, in his second game with the Knicks, he recorded a career high 18 rebounds against theBoston Celtics. His previous career high was eight. He also scored 17 points in the game for the firstdouble-double of his NBA career.[11] Five days later, he recorded his second double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in a game against his former team, the Heat.[12] A day later, the Knicks signed him for the remainder of the season.[13] He averaged 33 minutes per game in seven games with the Knicks, with a double-double average of points and rebounds per game (11.7 ppg and 11.0 rpg).
On November 16, 2010, he was signed by thePhoenix Suns, following an injury to their starting centerRobin Lopez. Barron made his debut the next day against the Heat. On December 2, 2010, he made his first start as a Sun in a game against theGolden State Warriors. Barron was released by the Suns on December 21 and signed a ten-day contract with theMilwaukee Bucks on March 1, 2011. He then signed a second one with the Bucks, which ended on March 21. On April 12, thePortland Trail Blazers signed him to a contract for the rest of the 2011 season.[14]
On December 21, 2011, he was waived by the Trail Blazers.[15]
On January 14, 2012, he was signed by the Warriors.[16] The Warriors waived him on February 6.[17]
In February 2012, Barron signed with theMeralco Bolts in thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA) replacing the team's first importJarrid Famous.[18] On April 26, he signed withAtleticos de San Germán from Puerto Rico.[19]
Barron joined theWashington Wizards in September 2012.[20] He was waived by the Wizards on December 23, 2012.[21]
On April 17, 2013, Barron signed with theNew York Knicks following the retirement ofRasheed Wallace.[22] He appeared in one game for the Knicks, scoring 11 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in 37 minutes in a victory against theAtlanta Hawks.[23]
On September 26, 2014, Barron signed with thePhoenix Suns.[24] However, he was later waived by the Suns on October 25, 2014.[25] On November 2, 2014, he was acquired by theBakersfield Jam as an affiliate player.[26] On January 27, 2015, he was bought out of his contract with the Jam in order to sign in China withShanxi Zhongyu.[27] However, the CBA season finished before he appeared in a game for them, and he returned to the Jam on February 18. Three days later, he signed a 10-day contract with the Suns.[28] He then signed a second 10-day contract with the Suns on March 3,[29] and for the rest of the season on March 13.[30]
On September 25, 2015, Barron signed with theAtlanta Hawks.[31] However, he was later waived by the Hawks on October 24 after appearing in four preseason games.[32] On November 17, 2015, he signed with theFubon Braves of theTaiwanese League.[33]
On September 3, 2016, Barron signed a one-year deal with theToyama Grouses of the JapaneseB.League.[34] On December 9, 2016, he parted ways with Toyama.[35] On January 9, 2017, he re-joined the Fubon Braves.[36]
On November 20, 2017, during the2017–18 NBA G League season, Barron was announced as one of the newest assistant coaches for theNorthern Arizona Suns, thus effectively ending his playing career.[37]
On December 4, 2020, Barron was hired by theIndiana Pacers to serve as a video/player development assistant.[38]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Miami | 8 | 0 | 5.6 | .313 | .000 | .750 | 1.3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.6 |
| 2006–07 | Miami | 28 | 0 | 7.3 | .289 | .000 | .944 | 1.5 | .2 | .2 | .1 | 2.3 |
| 2007–08 | Miami | 46 | 15 | 19.3 | .404 | .077 | .701 | 4.3 | .6 | .4 | .2 | 7.1 |
| 2009–10 | New York | 7 | 6 | 33.1 | .441 | .000 | .759 | 11.0 | 1.1 | .6 | .6 | 11.7 |
| 2010–11 | Phoenix | 12 | 6 | 15.3 | .235 | .000 | .600 | 3.3 | .3 | .5 | .3 | 3.0 |
| 2010–11 | Milwaukee | 7 | 0 | 12.1 | .459 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.1 | .6 | .3 | .3 | 5.1 |
| 2010–11 | Portland | 2 | 1 | 18.5 | .273 | .000 | .500 | 7.0 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | 3.5 |
| 2011–12 | Golden State | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | .500 | .000 | .000 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2012–13 | Washington | 11 | 1 | 11.1 | .351 | .000 | .400 | 3.9 | .3 | .4 | .4 | 2.5 |
| 2012–13 | New York | 1 | 1 | 37.0 | .357 | .000 | .500 | 18.0 | 2.0 | .0 | 1.0 | 11.0 |
| 2014–15 | Phoenix | 16 | 1 | 8.9 | .308 | .500 | .500 | 1.8 | .3 | .2 | .1 | 2.0 |
| Career | 140 | 31 | 14.2 | .371 | .167 | .702 | 3.5 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 4.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Portland | 1 | 0 | .0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
Source[39]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Huntsville | 10 | 9 | 22.7 | .542 | – | .762 | 6.1 | .6 | 1.0 | .7 | 8.0 |
| 2004–05 | Huntsville | 45 | 23 | 25.8 | .499 | – | .811 | 5.7 | .8 | .4 | .6 | 12.2 |
| 2005–06 | Florida | 6 | 3 | 29.2 | .512 | .000 | .762 | 9.7 | 2.2 | .7 | .2 | 17.0 |
| 2008–09 | Los Angeles | 13 | 6 | 28.3 | .415 | .000 | .636 | 7.2 | 2.4 | .5 | .7 | 9.9 |
| 2009–10 | Iowa | 47 | 47 | 31.7 | .489 | .318 | .762 | 10.2 | 1.2 | .7 | .8 | 16.2 |
| 2014–15 | Bakersfield | 26 | 17 | 32.5 | .467 | .338 | .792 | 10.9 | 1.5 | .7 | .5 | 20.5 |
| Career | 147 | 105 | 29.0 | .483 | .327 | .775 | 8.4 | 1.2 | .6 | .6 | 14.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Huntsville | 2 | 2 | 12.0 | .500 | – | 1.000 | 2.5 | .5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 4.0 |
| 2005 | Huntsville | 1 | 1 | 27.0 | .222 | – | 1.000 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 |
| Career | 3 | 3 | 17.0 | .333 | – | 1.000 | 5.0 | .7 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 5.3 | |
An avid poker player, Barron participated in the2015 World Series of Poker where he was eliminated during the early stages of the competition.[40]
