Edison’s All Time Leading Scorer to Play for Former Rutgers Coach, Fred Hill
EDISON, NJ—After completing a very successful career at Edison High School, Niko Barnes is ready for the next chapter in his basketball life. Two weeks ago, Barnes announced that he will be playing a year of post-graduate hoops at Compass Basketball Academy. At Compass, Barnes will be coached by former Rutgers head coach, Fred Hill.
This past season, Barnes led Edison to its second 19 win season in three years, and its first state playoff win since 1979. The Eagles finished third in the GMC White behind the two top ranked teams in the final GMC Hoops Top Ten: St. Thomas Aquinas and Colonia. Edison reached the 2022 GMCT Elite Eight before losing to Colonia. The Patriots handed the Eagles three of its 9 losses on the year.
In 2018-19, Barnes helped Edison’s freshmen team to its third Perth Amboy/GMC Frosh Tourney Final Four in 8 years. As a sophomore, Barnes contributed to the Eagles first division title in school history, and first MCT/GMCT Final Four since 1966. Edison played only 12 games in 2020-21 due to COVID, but still managed to finish in the GMC Hoops Top Ten.
Barnes was the top player as a junior for Edison in 2020-21. According to stats compiled by GMC Hoops with the Game Changer app, Barnes played and started in all 12 of the Eagles games. He tallied 202 total points on 68 of 163 from the floor for 42 percent including 10 of 36 from beyond the arc for 28 percent while making 56 of 74 from the foul line for 76 percent.
In addition, Barnes collected 84 rebounds, 55 assists, 21 steals and 4 blocked shots while committing 27 fouls and 38 turnovers. Barnes only fouled out of one game while averaging 16.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest. On top of that, Barnes had an assist to turnover ratio of 1.4 and averaged 2.3 fouls per game.
Barnes scored in double figures in 11 of Edison’s 12 games in 2020-21. Of those 11 games, Barnes scored 20 points or more on three occasions. He scored a season high 29 points in the Eagles season opener at Dunellen on January 26th. He recorded double digit rebounds in four of Edison’s 12 games, and collected three double-doubles.
With only 427 career points entering his senior year, Barnes faced an uphill battle to reach 1,000 points. Before Barnes, Edison had only one 1,000 point scorer in school history. He found a way to reach the milestone though as he scored 590 points in 2021-22. Barnes played and started in all of the Eagles 28 games despite playing hurt the last month of the season.
Connecting on 204 total field goals including 39 threes, and making 143 foul shots, Barnes became Edison’s second 1,000 point scorer and all time leading scorer with 1,017 points. In Edison’s 57-43 loss to Westfield in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 Quarterfinals, Barnes broke the previous career scoring mark set by Tom McKenzie in 1971 (1,003 points).
Moreover, Barnes collected 163 rebounds, 103 assists, 41 steals, and 6 blocked shots according to stats compiled at NJ.com. He averaged 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per contest as a senior. For his career, Barnes tallied his 1,017 points on 348 total field goals including 56 three pointers, and 265 foul shots. Barnes also compiled 338 rebounds, 195 assists, 86 steals, and 19 blocks in 66 games.
During his three years at Edison, Barnes averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest. Barnes scored in double figures in 49 games including 18 contests with 20 points or more. He scored a career high 37 points in a 73-70 overtime loss to Plainfield in the Championship Game of the 2021 Anthony Cotoia Holiday Tourney.
In the three seasons Barnes played varsity, Edison was 44-22 overall including a mark of 22-8 in the GMC White. Recently, Barnes played in the 2022 GMCBCA Senior All-Star Game at Woodbridge High School on March 29th. Barnes scored 18 points including 12 in the second half on four three pointers in Team White’s 122-112 victory over Team Black.
Barnes is the second player in his family to score 1,000 points in his career. His older brother, Branden, scored 1,037 points at Piscataway Tech before graduating in 2018. The older Barnes, who also played football for Edison, is currently on the roster at Wagner. Combined, the Barnes brothers scored 2,054 points in their careers.
Congratulations Niko on a stellar career, and best of luck moving forward.