I-5, get ready for Will Barton behind the wheel

On Thursday, Blazers rookie Will Barton felt like he was 16 again.

Barton passed his Oregon written driver’s exam, declaring the big news on his Twitter (@WillTheThrillerB5) a little before 4 p.m. on Thursday:

“Just passed my written driving test!!!!! I’m so amped up right now!!!!! Power On!!!!!”

Turns out, Will, who grew up in transit-friendly Baltimore, never had a driver’s license. He guesses that most of his family back home are sans licence, too. But being out here in the Northwest where he’ll have to jump on a freeway most days, he’ll definitely need to be a legal driver. Plus, he’s rich and rich young men need fast cars.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Barton told me when asked what kind of wheels he’s going to choose. “That’s why I got my license so I can go pick out my car. You got to have a license to drive a car.”

That’s right, young Will. And so on Monday, he plans on taking the actual driving test. Wish Barton luck. Because if he fails the test, he’ll have to keep depending on his manager to drive him around every where. Which I’m sure is just a glorified version of riding shot gun in Mom’s station wagon.