Oregon State had already lost Hallice Cooke to transfer in recent weeks and now the Beavers will lose another returning player as a source confirmed to NBCSports.com that junior point guard Challe Barton will forego his senior season to play professionally overseas.
The 6-foot-3 Barton started the 2013-14 season as a starter but after a demotion to Cooke, Barton played just 12 of the final 18 games and played double-digit minutes twice. For his junior season, the native of Sweden averaged three points, 1,1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Barton started 25 games during his Oregon State career but never made much of a contribution on the stat sheet. Barton will test his game overseas and last summer he was one of the final players cut from the Swedish national team.
As Connor Letourneau of the Oregonian notes, Barton’s father, Charles Barton, is also a longtime European professional coach for teams like Sweden’s Gothia Basket and Germany’s Skyliners Frankfurt.
Oregon State will now look to returning freshman point guard Malcolm Duvivier and junior college transfer Gary Payton II to handle the ball. Duvivier averaged 3.1 points and under half an assist a game last season while Payton II averaged 14.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists for Salt Lake Community College, a team that made the NJCAA Division I Championships Sweet 16.