The complicated Tar Heel career of Harrison Barnes
North Carolina forward Harrison Barnes (40) drives against Kansas forward Thomas Robinson during the first half of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Midwest Regional final Sunday, March 25, 2012, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Mar 30, 2012
There was an expected level of fan bitterness after John Henson, Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall announced they were headed to the NBA. North Carolina isn't unique to this type of reaction, since fans are ultimately selfish about their programs. Players leaving, no matter how high they'll go in the draft, is secondary to what their exit means for the next season.
Tar Heel Blog has an excellent write up on legacies, accomplishments and how the trio will be viewed in Tar Heels basketball history. Henson will be fondly remembered in Chapel Hill. Same for Marshall, with an added dose of "what it" thanks to his fractured wrist. Harrison Barnes? That's where things start to get tricky.
Grantland kicked off the national debate over Barnes, his "brand" and whether or not his college career was a bust earlier in the week. On the local level, that debate has been going on ever since he arrived in Chapel Hill. For all the preseason hype, Barnes' freshman season didn't really take off until Marshall supplanted Larry Drew as the starting point guard. He dominated in spurts and had a knack for hitting clutch shots in tight games. Barnes was a no-brainer ACC Freshman of the Year and wound up on the second team All ACC list. Not exactly up to the expectations set by his pre-season All America honor, but it's not like he stunk up the joint.
Barnes' sophomore season was more of the same, but his stat filling was buried by Tyler Zeller's senior season and Marshall's emergence has a threat to score. Barnes was an important cog in the North Carolina machine, but he wasn't irreplaceable like Marshall. It was supposed to be the other way around if you bought into the predetermined legacy plan coming out of Iowa.
Speaking of which, that angle is much ado about nothing. Barnes was the prototype for the highly self-aware college athlete. Throw in the next evolution of helicopter parenting thanks to social media and it's a recipe for upcoming recruits to do the reverse of what has been the norm for years -- balling out and then letting the rest of it catch up.
The idea that Barnes was overly concerned with his image has merit, but this is the wave of the future. Thank Facebook and Twitter, which has created the need to craft a social media persona. Let's not act like Barnes was the only one to extend his "brand" while playing basketball. Marshall, his own teammate, became a social media sensation with his quick wit. Marketing execs notice those things.
Barnes simply took it to another level with actual stakes on the line. Crafting an elaborate recruiting announcement or calling his shot last Spring when he announced his North Carolina return needed to be backed up. In that regard, Barnes was a bust. But his actual production on the court? Barnes was very good. Not great, but very good.
Unfortunately Barnes set himself up that so that good wasn't going to get it done.
Most Recent Comments
RE: The complicated Tar Heel career of Harrison Barnes
In fact before the season began, this was the one place with all his physical skill he needed the most work, and was what most draft analysts stated was the place he needed to grow his game. He was better, but could he bring the ball down the floor like Duke's Grant Hill a similar player? Absolutely not. Of the 3 underclassmen that went pro, he is the one who could have stood to stay another year and develop his game with the dribble before his living was dependent on it. He is going to be a wing in the pro's or a big guard, either one is going to force him to take better care of the ball or he won't last a year. It is by far the most competitive position at the next level. Henson can make a career being a defensive specialist, Marshall passes the ball like no one I have seen in an Acc uniform, and could immediately make a team like Dallas or LA better. Z runs the floor like a wing and will get the chance to shoot his jumper more at his next resting place. I think Barnes has made a serious tactical error in judgement.RE: The complicated Tar Heel career of Harrison Barnes
The biggest issue with Barnes, is he was at his best when he did not have to create his own shot. He missed Kendal Marshall more than anyone else for that reason. He could not be a Walter Davis, or Charlie Scott, simply because he did not have that one attribute, which was the ability to get his shot anywhere anytime he wanted it. In fact at times he was lackidazical with ball.RE: The complicated Tar Heel career of Harrison Barnes
Barnes, Henson and Marshall will all be missed - and I think they are all making the best decisions for themselves -- which is exactly what they should do. I have always had mixed feelings for Barnes. Maybe it is because of all the hype and his off-putting focus on his brand, or maybe it's more that he looked like he disappeared in games as often as he dazzled. I really couldn't put my finger on it until I read an article last week that suggested that he played like someone with one foot out the door most of the season. That resonated with me. He never seemed that emotionally committed to Tar Heel basketball.I wished players like Barnes and Austin Rivers could go straight to the NBA. The new set up really hurts college basketball. I wished the options were going straight to the NBA from high school - or committing to college for three years. You can’t blame great players for leaving early to pursue their dreams and fortunes, but I don’t think it should be at the expense of the college game. As it is now, top talent gravitates to the top programs for maximum collegiate exposure and air time. This hurts non-elite programs. The early exits and the element of the unknown make it very difficult to build teams and anticipate recruiting needs. The NBA or three year plan would correct that.
Lastly, there are no fans like college fans and few college fans as committed and faithful as Tar Heel fans. Players leaving early shouldn’t expect to be remembered as fondly as those who stay on for several years – and those who really seem committed to the college game. Any frequent Heels game attendee is familiar with the ‘I am a Tar Heel’ video that plays on the big screens at some point during the game. The crowd goes wild for James Worthy, Tyler Hansbrough and the like. I think the same will be true of Henson and Marshall and certainly big Z. Though Marshall only played two seasons, he was an unselfish team player who gave it his all. I think Barnes will be remembered less favorably and maybe not get the big applause. Some of that is unfair, as the expectations were unfair. For me, it will be not because he left early, but because he infrequently showed the driver and focus of the others I’ve mentioned. I love the chest-pumping and the roaring and the body slams. He did that some, but just as often he seemed to disappear. He seemed more like a businessman planning his next sale than a college athlete enjoying the game. While he will no doubt make more money next year than I’ve made in my career, I think he should have enjoyed it more.
RE: The complicated Tar Heel career of Harrison Barnes
I'm not saying Joe is flat out wrong about there being bitterness throughout Tar Heel nation regarding the players going pro. But I will say that he is so immersed in the world of Twitter and social media that he ends up overestimating how representative that world actually is of the larger population. I know a lot, an awful lot, of Carolina fans, and I went there myself. And I don't know a single person who is bitter about the guys going early. My take is good for them, and it's not my place to tell a person what to do with his life, or really even be overly concerned about it when he makes a decision. The other thing I can't really figure out about Joe 99% of the time is what he actually does think about a given subject. I mean, I know he thinks most everything is amusing or overblown or silly. But he's always reactionary. He never has an opinion of his own. Again, he seems to live so much in the world of sarcasm and snark that so largely makes up social media that he insulates himself against the snark by never taking a position that might open him up to the sarcasm he delivers to almost everyone else. He's established his schtick and, heck, in the end I'm probably just jealous that he has an act that gets him paid while rarely ever coming up with an original stand. The thing that kind of stinks is that he can be fun, but eventually you end up tuning guys like that out because they're not really delivering a whole lot other than mocking people.Posted Mar 30, 8:00 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 6377
Joined: Feb, 2007
Location: Winterville, NC
