Wednesday afternoon, per his personal social media accounts, Junior guard Bryce Barnes of the Milwaukee Men’s Basketball team announced that this summer he will be graduating early from UWM and taking his basketball talents elsewhere as a graduate transfer.
Barnes, a product of Bogan Prep School in Chicago, Illinois, was a leader on and off the court for the Panthers over the course of the past two seasons. Believe it or not, he was the longest tenured Panther on the 2018-2019 roster, as the program lost a handful of impactful performers last Spring. Bryce spent the majority of his Sophomore and Junior seasons as a member of the starting lineup, starting 26 of 32 contests his Sophomore year. Unfortunately, Barnes’ Junior campaign did not go as planned, as he dealt with injuries. Newcomer Darius Roy played at a very high level while shouldering the load at the guard position, leaving Barnes with a reduced role on the court upon his return back to health.
Coach Pat Baldwin took to Twitter Thursday morning to speak to Bryce directly about his career as a Panther.
“@BryceB_3 If there were a Hall of Fame for coachable players, you would be on the first ballot. Your value was never measured by numbers. You were exemplary in your everyday approach & embodied the student-athlete persona. A genuine young man to coach & be around! Good Luck “0”!” (@CoachBaldwin23 via Twitter)
The Panthers will have no shortage of depth at the guard position in the upcoming 2019-2020 season, as Redshirt-Junior Te’Jon Lucas will be eligible to return to the court after transferring back home to Milwaukee from the University of Illinois this past year.