Harrison Barnes has confirmed that he will announce his decision on where he will go to school next Friday by signing a letter of intent. According to some reports, he will be doing so live on ESPN U.
Barnes will be taking his last visit this weekend to Iowa State is his hometown of Ames. He will then decide between Duke, UNC, Kansas, Oklahoma, UCLA, and the Cyclones.
Harrison Barnes will announce his intentions on Nov. 13th.(photo credit: SLAM)
If I had to make a guess, I would say that Barnes is headed for UNC, but that is completely unsubstantiated speculation. Unlike fellow top recruits John Wall and Kyrie Irving, who most considered locks for Kentucky/John Calipari and Duke, respectively, Barnes' seems to be much more up in the air.
Earlier in his recruitment process, Barnes was thought by many to be a lock to go to Duke. But after attending the UNC alumni game where he met, among others, Michael Jordan, and after Dave Odom reported a bit of a tiff between Tobacco Road foes Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams (to which Barnes responded with a perfectly reasonable explanation), quite a few started speculating a change in sentiment.
When it comes down to it, the only people who know where Barnes is going to go to school are Harrison and his family and advisers.
So what effect will Barnes have on the six schools still in the mix?
- Duke: Assuming that Kyle Singler and Irving both return to Durham, can you imagine a starting line-up of Irving, Seth Curry, Barnes, Singler, (insert 6'10" white guy), with Andre Dawkins, Tyler Thornton, and (insert two more 6'10" white guys) coming off the bench? Can you say national title?
- UNC and Kansas: His effect on both schools will be determined by who actually comes back to school. Will Xavier Henry or John Henson stick around for more than a year? Are Ed Davis and Cole Aldrich locks to enter the draft? Assuming those guys are gone, there will probably be more minutes available at the small forward spot at UNC than at Kansas, but that shouldn't matter as Barnes will likely be a starter from day one at either school. Kansas is probably better equipped to handle not getting a commitment, but both schools are going to be in the national title conversation regardless of whether or not Barnes wears their jersey.
- Oklahoma: Jeff Capel probably isn't going to be lucky enough to have Willie Warren return to school for his junior season, which means that he will be losing a huge number of points (Tony Crocker graduates as well). Barnes will step in and be the Sooners go-to scorer the second he gets on campus, but it is much less likely that he will be a Final Four contender in Norman. Does Barnes want to post huge stats and win a bunch of individual awards (a la a Kevin Durant), or does he want to compete for a national title?
- UCLA: The Bruins are very young this year, but with two consecutive loaded recruiting classes, a season of maturation could be enough to get Ben Howland's team back to national prominence come 2011. Tyler Honeycutt, Mike Moser, and Malcolm Lee will make minutes more difficult to come by in Westwood, but, as is the case with UNC, Barnes should be good enough to start immediately. Without him, they are one of the best teams out west. With him, they are in the national title conversation.
- Iowa State: If Craig Brackins returns to school, Iowa State may have the pieces to make a run at the tournament. If not, then, well, Barnes will spend a year playing in anonymity.
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2 comments:
Hi Rob,
I'm thinking Duke. He and Kyrie are buddies and he seems like a Duke guy. Maybe the second coming of Grant Hill. A well-rounded, class kid and tremendous talent.
Wherever he goes I wish him the best.
I think Dook...NOT. I believe this kid wants to be a "winner" and obtain a NCAA National Championship. Although anything is possible, "K" seems to be enamored with the Olympics rather than college basketball.
I live in the "Tobacco Road" area. Koach Krzydlkdjd3047667sky has refined an exasperating habit of "throwing players under the bus". This has become his emblem to abandon his seasoned players (ask Paulus). Also, "K" is a Doppelganger of one annihilated by his own narcissism.
Anyone in their right understanding, should carefully scrutinize this escarpment of buffoonery. If they will, they would hasten from him as if he were a rattle snake.
K's actions of "thuggery" have appeared on multitudinous occasions in the past. In recent times was witnessed the assault of Tyler Hansbrough in The Dean Dome. What was so appalling and revealing was pertaining to K's retort relative to the circumstance. He, in no way, offered an apology for "Henderthug's" actions. His was only concerned that Henderson would procure the perception of a "dirty player."
In conclusion, none of us think Henderson is a dirty player. He's a talented young man who should do well in the NBA and deservedly so. However, Koach K needs to re-learn something about the word "class". He still has class. Unfortunately, his class is now "class wanting the first two letters". Simply, this is not the kind of dunderhead a top recruit would want to associate with.
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