Is Cat Barber ‘uncoachable’? Not according to his NC State coach

Draft Express has posted an updated, extended scouting report on N.C. State point guard Cat Barber.

Barber, who led the ACC in scoring last season, declared for the NBA draft after his junior season and has signed with an agent. Draft Express and NBADraft.net both have Barber projected as a second-round pick.

The latest scouting report from Draft Express includes some interesting stats from Synergy Sports Technology. For example, 75 percent of Barber’s shots (572 in all) this past season came from isolation, pick and roll or transition opportunities.

And Barber converted 36.6 percent of his pull-up jump shot attempts and converted 49 percent of his attempts at the rim.

For the most part, the scouting report accurately hits Barber’s strengths (speed, quickness, how he has improved/developed in three years at N.C. State) and his weaknesses (decision-making, efficiency).

The only part that gave me pause was the last paragraph. It reads: “(Barber) does not have a reputation for being the most coachable player in the world or the best teammate, even beyond his often poor body language, so he will have to show in the pre-draft process that these things won’t be as much of a concern at the pro level.”

The second part first: Barber’s body language certainly wasn’t perfect during his freshman season, when he split time with Tyler Lewis, or early in his sophomore season. But you couldn’t have asked for much more emotionally, or from a leadership standpoint, from him during what was a difficult 16-17 finish in 2015-16.

And the first part goes directly against what N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said several times, unprompted, during this past season.

“He’s been very coachable,” Gottfried said in January. “I’ve never had one issue with him not being honest with me or playing hard or anything negative. What I’ve really enjoyed is he has developed and improved every year.”

Again, Barber’s not perfect, but that particular criticism doesn’t line up with the opinion of his coach for the past three years.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Is Cat Barber ‘uncoachable’? Not according to his NC State coach."