Ex-Sonic Dana Barros Stands Tall As Starting Guard For Philadelphia

Dana Barros expects to be part of the NBA's All-Star Weekend three-point competition. It's not the first time he's been a long shot.

"When we got him, all we heard was, he could shoot the `three,' that when he played it was at `two' (the shooting-guard position) and that he couldn't play the `one' (point guard)," Sixers Coach Fred Carter said.

Barros, listed at 5 feet 11, but admittedly 5-9 1/4, spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with Seattle before going to Charlotte and the Sixers in back-to-back trades. If the scouting report on him was jumbled, it wouldn't be the first time misinformation traveled coast to coast.

The kid doesn't have point-guard skills? The kid's primarily a shooter, not a distributor? The kid's a backup?

"That's what we heard," said Katz. "(But) he breaks double-teams, he beats the press, he can dribble. Sometimes, with minutes, players get better. I really think that's what's happening here."

Barros, who handed out a career-high 12 assists in Wednesday night's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, is positive of that.

"I don't think anybody ever gave me the chance to play the point," Barros said. "Nobody could make a real judgment. All I ever said was, give me the opportunity. If I can't do it, I'll take my lumps. . . .

"I played a lot as a rookie in Seattle because Sedale Threatt (now with the Los Angeles Lakers) broke his hand and Dale Ellis (now with San Antonio) was in a car accident. I went from third string to first string, but when they came back and (then-coach) Bernie Bickerstaff left, it was over for me.

"You can't imagine what the past three years were like for me, sometimes not even wanting to go to the games. I felt I was better than five to 10 minutes a night, and they said they agreed, but they didn't do anything about it."

What took so long? Backcourt partner Jeff Hornacek, mulling the question, wasn't sure he had a good answer.

"At his size," Hornacek finally said, laughing, "you'd think he had to play the position sometime."