Harrison Barnes

[TheJON]

I saw him a handful of times in high school and he was very impressive. Very unselfish, great athlete, decent shooter......

But from what I have seen of him so far at UNC has been anything but that. Seems like he's shooting a very low percentage from the field, and missing badly on a lot of shots. Looks very uncomfortable. For a guy that is the first ever true freshman to be named to the preseason 1st team all-america you would expect better play from him, even this early in his career.

Not calling him a bust by any means, but he does not look comfortable at this level. It was kinda assumed he would come in and dominate right away. This hasn't happened so far.

For a guy that played in the same basketball conference as I did in high school, I would expect more out of him! :D

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

I'm not real surprised by his struggles. Usually these super hyped freshmen have other pieces around them to make them better, and they don't necessarily have to step in right away and be "the man." They can ease their way in. Take Kyrie Irving, for example. Or a John Wall who played with like 19 first round draft picks. UNC has talent, but it's raw, inexperienced, and the team lacks leadership.

[TheJON]

But the 2 times I have seen him play this year he really seemed like he was having trouble with all of the pressures of being the #1 recruit and being the 1st ever freshman to be a preseason 1st team all-american.

It's almost like Roy didn't watch his high school game film. If you watched him play in HS, you would see he COULD have scored 40 a night. But his strength wasn't just his scoring- it was his unselfishness and not trying to force things too much. Now, I realize Iowa high school basketball is a far cry from D-1 hoops. But he did a better job of getting his teamates involved instead of forcing everything. I have never seen a high school player with as high of a basketball IQ, and now he gets to college and he's not shown that so far.

His situation is very similar to what Matt Gatens has been at Iowa. Obviously, Barnes was more highly touted (though Gatens was a 4-star), but there are a lot of similarities I see. Saw both play at least a handful of times in high school- and many of those times I saw them matched up against players that were D-1 recruits (so it's not like I saw them going up against bums). The biggest strength I saw from both of them was their basketball IQ, passing abilities, shooting skills, and not making dumb mistakes or forcing things. Both could have scored 40 if they wanted to, but both scored around 20 instead because they were unselfish and let the game come to them.

Gatens has been anything but that at Iowa. His basketball IQ is so low, it just boggles my mind. He doesn't know when to shoot, when not to shoot, and when not to take the ball to the rack. Sometimes he forces things, sometimes he doesn't force the issue enough. He just can't figure out what he SHOULD do and how to utilize his skills at this level. From what I've seen of Barnes so far, it's very similar to that.

Like I said, I'm not calling Barnes a bust by any means. It's WAY too early. But that's exactly what I said about Gatens in his freshman year and things have not changed. There are a lot of similarities between them. And for a guy that everyone expected would be a 1-and-done- I dunno about that.

[Shine]

But the 2 times I have seen him play this year he really seemed like he was having trouble with all of the pressures of being the #1 recruit and being the 1st ever freshman to be a preseason 1st team all-american.

It's almost like Roy didn't watch his high school game film. If you watched him play in HS, you would see he COULD have scored 40 a night. But his strength wasn't just his scoring- it was his unselfishness and not trying to force things too much. Now, I realize Iowa high school basketball is a far cry from D-1 hoops. But he did a better job of getting his teamates involved instead of forcing everything. I have never seen a high school player with as high of a basketball IQ, and now he gets to college and he's not shown that so far.

His situation is very similar to what Matt Gatens has been at Iowa. Obviously, Barnes was more highly touted (though Gatens was a 4-star), but there are a lot of similarities I see. Saw both play at least a handful of times in high school- and many of those times I saw them matched up against players that were D-1 recruits (so it's not like I saw them going up against bums). The biggest strength I saw from both of them was their basketball IQ, passing abilities, shooting skills, and not making dumb mistakes or forcing things. Both could have scored 40 if they wanted to, but both scored around 20 instead because they were unselfish and let the game come to them.

Gatens has been anything but that at Iowa. His basketball IQ is so low, it just boggles my mind. He doesn't know when to shoot, when not to shoot, and when not to take the ball to the rack. Sometimes he forces things, sometimes he doesn't force the issue enough. He just can't figure out what he SHOULD do and how to utilize his skills at this level. From what I've seen of Barnes so far, it's very similar to that.

Like I said, I'm not calling Barnes a bust by any means. It's WAY too early. But that's exactly what I said about Gatens in his freshman year and things have not changed. There are a lot of similarities between them. And for a guy that everyone expected would be a 1-and-done- I dunno about that.

There is so much Jonsense in this post that my brain started to hurt when trying to figure out which piece of lunacy to attack/dismiss first. So I'll just say I wish I had four hands so I could give this post 4 thumbs down.

[TheJON]

What in the fuck is wrong with ANYTHING I said?

Jesus christ, tards like you.........

I can say "the sky is blue" and you would disagree.

Idiot. Go die.

[Shine]

Comparing the situations of the #1 ranked player coming out of HS, who also happens to be the first true freshman to be on the preseason AA list, to the 89th ranked player coming out of HS simply because they're from the same state makes perfect sense.

Sin,

Jon, and ONLY Jon

[TheJON]

Comparing the situations of the #1 ranked player coming out of HS, who also happens to be the first true freshman to be on the preseason AA list, to the 89th ranked player coming out of HS simply because they're from the same state makes perfect sense.

Sin,

Jon, and ONLY Jon

If you weren't dumb, you would understand the comparison I was making. I acknowledged that Barnes was a much higher recruit than Gatens.

My comparison makes no difference how talented the player is. My point is that I have seen both Gatens and Barnes go from being 1 type of player in HS (where they were successful) to a completely different type of player and it doesn't make sense. Barnes and Gatens have no athletic similarities. I'm not saying they do. But I am comparing their basketball IQ's. Both showed great basketball IQ in HS and both (up to this point) have shown HORRIBLE basketball IQ in college.

By the way, I was at the Iowa-Indiana game this year. Was my first trip to Bloomington for a sporting event. People there were really nice. Nice campus. Very helpful people. It's amazing how friendly people are in person, yet over the internet there are folks like you that are complete jackasses. Why is that, Shine?

[Mace]

Comparing the situations of the #1 ranked player coming out of HS, who also happens to be the first true freshman to be on the preseason AA list, to the 89th ranked player coming out of HS simply because they're from the same state makes perfect sense.

Sin,

Jon, and ONLY Jon

If you weren't dumb, you would understand the comparison I was making. I acknowledged that Barnes was a much higher recruit than Gatens.

My comparison makes no difference how talented the player is. My point is that I have seen both Gatens and Barnes go from being 1 type of player in HS (where they were successful) to a completely different type of player and it doesn't make sense. Barnes and Gatens have no athletic similarities. I'm not saying they do. But I am comparing their basketball IQ's. Both showed great basketball IQ in HS and both (up to this point) have shown HORRIBLE basketball IQ in college.

By the way, I was at the Iowa-Indiana game this year. Was my first trip to Bloomington for a sporting event. People there were really nice. Nice campus. Very helpful people. It's amazing how friendly people are in person, yet over the internet there are folks like you that are complete jackasses. Why is that, Shine?

Your point might be valid, as it is for at least 90+% of college freshmen in D-I basketball. They're playing with upper classmen and a totally different game than they experienced in high school.

[TheJON]

Your point might be valid, as it is for at least 90+% of college freshmen in D-I basketball. They're playing with upper classmen and a totally different game than they experienced in high school.

True. But my argument was based on basketball IQ. It's just weird watching Barnes play right now. It's almost like he has forgotten what got him there or the hype has just gotten to him and he's pressing. I'm still confident he will have a great career.

As for Gatens, I just can't figure out what happened to him. Obviously, Big-10 basketball is much more difficult than Iowa high school, but that shouldn't affect how smart you are on the court. He plays clueless, but in high school he didn't ever make poor decisions. For whatever reason, Matt simply cannot figure out who he is and what his skill level is.

It is true that Barnes is still a freshman, but we're talking about a different kind of freshman than most. He was a preseason 1st team All-American. He has been anything but that in the first 8 or 9 games. He's really only had 1 good half of basketball (I believe he scored 19 against some Directional school).

[Mace]

High school basketball IQ cannot be compared to college basketball IQ.....at least not in the way you're making the comparison. Barnes' "IQ" will improve with experience, as he accustoms himself to the speed of the college game. Defenses are so much quicker at the college level, passing lanes close much quicker, defenders get in your face much quicker, and he will just have to adjust to the speed/quickness of the game. Barnes is the most talented high school player I've ever seen in person and I don't think it will take him long to make the adjustment. He'll be fine, and I think he'll be a much better player in January than what you're seeing now.

[Shoalzie]

Irving has impressed the hell out of me...looked outstanding on Wednesday against State. I watched most of the second half of the UNC-Kentucky game...Barnes looked okay but Zeller was clearly the best player on the floor for the Heels. I wasn't really all that impressed with either team. That Kentucky team would've been something to watch if they kept most of their guys from last year but Calipari seems to love those 1-and-dones. Will any of his players ever make it to their senior year?

[TheJON]

Is it safe to assume Harrison isn't going to be a 1st team all-american?

Roy recently signed another Iowan for next year - Marcus Paige. That sumbitch snags up every big-time Iowa recruit - Collison, Hinrich, LaFrentz, Barnes, and now Paige.