Chris Barton (190-G-1996, college: Niagara) is a 29 year old 190cm guard from Michigan playing his fifth professional season and first with Delta Gurjaani (Georgia-Superleague). He has pro experience having played in the TBL in the States and overseas in countries like Finland, Luxemburg, Belgium, and Azerbaijan. He began his basketball career with Avondale High School and then played 4 seasons with Niagara University (NCAA) playing a total of 122 games. He spoke to germanhoops.com after scoring 50 points in a pro game in Georgia.

Thanks Chris for talking to germanhoops.com. You recently scored 50 points in a game and was the highest scorer in the world. You did it in Georgia. What does this feat mean to you?

It really means a lot to me because there were many questions about if I was fully healed from my Achilles tear from 2024, so to go out and achieve a career high after being doubted meant the world to me.

I guess the only thing missing was the win. Could you still enjoy the feat a bit?

It definitely would’ve meant a lot more if the win was attached to my performance. I tried everything I could to get us a win, but the other team was just better that night.

Andre Weir also put on a show with 42 points. Were you guys going head to head at one points with scoring?

Andre is a great player and an MVP candidate, so it was great competing with him for 40 minutes. I think we both just wanted to give our respective teams everything we had to ensure a Win, but I definitely noticed that both of us were kind of trading buckets out there.

You never averaged in double figures in the NCAA and highest points total was overseas in Finland with 38 points. Did you always know that you had such great scoring potential in your blood?

I would say that when I was in college, that might’ve been the only time I wasn’t considered a scorer. We had so many talented scorers that I played with that I didn’t need to saturate our team bringing the same thing to the table. So I decided to do everything else like defensive, leadership, rebounding, etc.

Did you have a special breakfast or do something different on this day to help you achieve so many points?

The only thing I ate before the game was an orange and a can of peanuts to be honest. I always feel better when I eat light before games. I also watched some Dwayne Wade highlights from the ’06 NBA Finals to get me motivated.

How did you feel going into the game? Do you sometimes know how your game may go after warm ups and how your shot is feeling?

Going into the game I felt good physically. The only thing I knew before the game was that I was going to be aggressive because I felt that’s what my team needed from me with some key guys being hurt. Once I saw a few go in early, I knew I was going to stay in attack mode.

How did you get into the game flow? How rapidly did you know that you might have a real good scoring day?

I got an open three pretty early into the game that started everything, then I got another jumper to go followed by an and one on the break. Once I saw the ball go in that early into the game I knew I had to do my best to keep it going for my team.

The team had 11 assists in the game and you 3. I imagine you scored a lot on the isolation. I guess you were really feeling it. Did your self confidence rise from bucket to bucket?

I’d say the first half was more of my teammates finding me for open looks, then once I had that rhythm going I started to get some isolation baskets as well. My confidence was for sure at an all time high after the first half. Been a while since I felt like that in a game.

Did you know in the fourth quarter that you were close to 50 points?

My coach actually pointed it out to me, because he asked if I wanted a sub or if I wanted to keep playing. I’m always going to keep playing as long as my body allows me to so it was an easy decision.

You took 41 shots and had a solid %. Were you content with your shot selection?

I would say for the most part all of the shots I took were shots that I work on, so I can live with the results. Although I was pretty gassed toward the end of the game, which I felt like led to more misses.

What was your favorite own basket of the 50 point game?

I would say my favorite basket had to be the first one just because it felt good when it left my hands and it kick started everything for the night.

Did you get any special messages from people that you might not have expected from?

I’d say my favorite message came from my cousin because he photoshopped my face on Wilt Chamberlain’s body with a piece of paper that had the number 50 on it.

Did you have to get your teammates donuts after game?

Haha no I didn’t, but I told them how appreciative I was that they allowed me to do that.

Thanks Chris for the chat.