He may be still finding his feet in his new role, but Melbourne Tigers point-guard David Barlow was at his brilliant best on Saturday night when leading his side to a comfortable 28-point victory over the Adelaide 36ers.
After the retirement of Darryl McDonald earlier this year, Barlow was thrust into the starting point-guard position at the Tigers in the off-season and is slowly coming to grips with his new role.
Barlow shot a game-high 29 points against the 36ers and was instrumental in helping the Tigers recover from their shock loss to the Perth Wildcats on Wednesday night.
In that game against the Wildcats, Barlow was held scoreless for the first time in his career at the Tigers and finished the game on the bench after receiving a black eye when concussed by an errant Darnell Hinson elbow.
"I was pretty pissed off after the Wildcats game because we lost and we shouldn't have lost to those guys," Barlow said after the Tigers defeated the 36ers 119-91.
"I think all the guys were pretty disappointed. We practiced pretty hard on Friday and everyone was pretty motivated for this game. I certainly was."
Barlow said he was still getting used to his new role as point-guard, but is determined to work hard at it and become a better all-round player.
"I find this year, especially now I am playing the point, that when you make a mistake it just get amplified," Barlow said.
"I am used to just running down the lane and if you make a mistake it goes unnoticed, but at the point it is a different story. That is something I have had to deal with a little bit."
"It is not just bringing the ball up and kicking it on which I maybe initially anticipated. A lot more thought goes into running the point than it does at playing at the three. You have got to think so much and I am still getting used to it."
And although Barlow failed to register an assist against the 36ers – a statistic that he didn't entirely agree with – the 24-year-old wasn't too concerned and instead decided to poke fun at team-mate Ebi Ere.
"Ebi had eight assists," Barlow said somewhat surprised.
"He made up for it. That has got to be a career high for him."