Barea garners MVP honors at Under 21 Centrobasket tournament
After guiding his team to easy wins over Barbados (99-44) and Mexico (98-46), Barea nearly recorded a triple-double (21 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds) in Puerto Rico's 102-74 semifinal win over the Dominican Republic.
In the finals against the Bahamas, Barea once again led the way, pouring in 21 points and pulling down nine rebounds as Puerto Rico won, 90-76.
For the tournament, Barea averaged 18.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 3.5 steals a game, while shooting 53 percent (28-of-53) from the floor. His scoring, assist and steal averages all were tournament bests.
Barea became Northeastern's first All-America East Conference first team selection in 14 years last season after leading the league in assists and three-pointers made.
July 20, 2004
Hector Sola Bezares Coliseum (Caguas, Puerto Rico)Junior point guard Jose Juan Barea took home Most Valuable Player honors en route to leading Puerto Rico to the gold medal at the 2004 Under 21 Centrobasket tournament in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
