Jacob Pullen the seventh American guard in FC Barcelona history

Jacob Pullen the seventh American guard in FC Barcelona history

A total of seven Americans have featured for the Barça in the history of the Club Goldwire, Hawkins and Williams, were the most successful even though they only played one season for Barça

Jacob Pullen is the seventh American point guard to sign for FC Barcelona. The team, which was directed by nationals or Europeans during Barça's golden era in the 80s and 90s, have rarely employed the services of Americans in the point guard position. Of the six Americans that precede Pullen (Goldwire, Hawkins, Overton, Williams, Cota and Barrett), only three had a meaningful impact on the team. Pullen will have to buck the trend of American point guards leaving the team after only one season.

Goldwire, the first to give it a go

Anthony Goldwire signed for FC Barcelona in the 1999/2000 season. That year the team was managed by Aíto García Reneses, and the American shared his position on the court with Nacho Rodríguez. Goldwire played a total of 49 matches in the ACB and 23 in the European Cup. He returned to the NBA the following season, he then moved to Italy.

League and Cup titles with Hawkins

He didn’t start the season with FC Barcelona. Hawkins was signed in January of 2001, halfway through the year after Ronny Seikal was released and Sarunas Jasikevicius picked up an injury. The American guard signed a two-month contract, but he earned his spot on the team and finished out the season in Barcelona. That season will always be remembered as Pau Gasol’s breakout year as he led the team to the league and cup titles. Hawkins was relegated to the bench after Saras recovered from his injury, but he did contribute to the team’s success that season.

Williams’ good season

With the arrival of Dusko Ivanovic to the bench, in the 2005/06 season, Shammond Williams was the man selected for the point guard position. After a great season with Unics Kazan, Williams arrived to Barcelona to direct the team’s play, but despite his good stats (12.4 points and 5.4 assists per match) the team didn’t go on to win any silverware that season. He was picked up by the Lakers the following year.

Oveton, Cota and Barrett

Doug Overton arrived to Barça on a short-term contract in February of 2002. He was signed for one month to replace Anderson Varejo, but he left the team early after the Clippers offered him a contract. In one of his two matches for Barça, Overton called a timeout thinking that players could stop the match just like they can in the NBA (that’s not the case in the ACB). Ed Cota arrived to Barça in the 2005/06 season, and he played for the team for three months. During this time he featured in nine ACB games.

Andre Barrett was singed in the 2008/09 season, and he featured in a total of 27 matches.

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