Blast from the past: Antonio Barton to UT

You guys remember Antonio Barton? If not, let me refresh your memory... Antonio Barton is the brother of Will Barton, current NBA player and former Memphis standout. When Coach Calipari arrived at Kentucky, Will Barton was stil a highly-touted 5-star recruit rumored to be the impending first commitment to join Cal's 2010 UK recruiting class. However, amidst this recruitment, Calipari took a trip to China - at which point newly-hired Memphis head coach Josh Pastner hosted Will and his brother Antonio for an official visit. After the visit, the tides suddenly changed and before you knew it, the Barton brothers were committed to play for the Memphis Tigers. The swing happened while Calipari was out of the country, and considering how perfectly Will Barton fit the Coach Cal system, it surely stung a bit to lose him. However, many folks believe Will chose Memphis in part because Pastner was willing to offer his brother Antonio a scholarship as well. That may or may not have been the case at UK too - we will never know. Antonio was not as highly touted as Will, but that did not stop Antonio from coming into Memphis and being an impact freshman for his team, averaging 8.2 points. However, since that first season, his stats have slowly declined. Antonio has now decided to change schools (to an in-state rival of all places). Antonio Barton will transfer to Tennessee and play immediately. This is huge news for the Vols, who just lost PG Trae Golden (whoa, speaking of blasts from the past) to transfer. Antonio shoots the ball very well from the perimeter (over 40% from three in each of his collegiate seasons) and will be a big help to a depleted UT team.