BYU Basketball: Alex Barcello Sheds Light on His New Role Next Season

Alex Barcello – senior guard and University of Arizona transfer – appeared on BYU Sports Nation with hosts Spencer Linton and Jarom Jordan to discuss his new role with BYU basketball as players have been cleared to returned to campus for voluntary workouts.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard was described as a ‘’bulldog of a player,” by head coach Mark Pope. “He’s capable of really pressuring the ball. He can get wherever he wants to on the floor. He has another gear where he can get there really fast. He’s a pretty creative passer” (Deseret News). 

Barcello will be surrounded by a new genre of teammates for the 2020-21 season. During the 2019-20 season, BYU led the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (42.20%) and their biggest players were Yoeli Childs (6-foot-8), Kolby Lee (6-foot-9), and Gavin Baxter (6-foot-10). This year, BYU will play a different style of basketball as they have more size than they have had in a long time. Gavin Baxter and Kolby Lee return to the squad with the addition of two new transfers Matt Haarms (7-foot-3) and Gideon George (6-foot-6). Wyatt Lowell (6-foot-10) and Richard Harward (6-foot-11) both transferred from Utah Valley last season and will likely play their first minutes as Cougars in the 2020-21 season. 

Barcello averaged 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 49.35 from the field during the 2019-20 season. The Junior guard recorded two 18-point games last season including a career-high six three pointers against Loyola Marymount. “I know that we lost a lot of scoring and I am going to have to step up in that role but I know I don’t have to do it all by myself,” Barcello said speaking of the transition from last year’s roster to the current roster. 

As a senior leader of the team, Barcello will take on a new role in the 2020-21 season. “In the point guard position, you have to be the floor general,” Barcello said. “I love to push the ball and push the transition and get the ball up the floor quickly.”

Barcello was clear that team chemistry is very important to the program and shared that he and his new teammate, Matt Haarms, have been working out together via zoom to build said chemistry. “No one guy has to do it," Barcello said. "We are all going to do it collectively as a group. Me seeing all these bigs that I have, I’m going to need to get the ball into them and keep them happy.”