He's a decent rebounder, better than our other SF options. Also, maybe Coach K could have gotten more defense out of him. In any event, his defense would have improved just from having to try to cover Rivers!
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I hear you and if it were not for the way Barnes handles himself, I too would be put off by the critics. But how many kids half-way through their freshman year are calling up a reporter to ask about their status as all american or NPOY???
Lots of kids come in over-hyped, which is not their fault, but not all of them buy into like Barnes has...
That's so funny. I just emailed a UNC friend/fan that I thought Barnes would have been much better off at Duke. As much as I despise the guy, our offense is more geared for his style of play vs. what they currently offer at UNC.
Plus all the intangibles, like arrogance, self-righteousness, etc. It would have fit the narrative so much better.
i think that HWNSNBM would not only have thrived at duke, he'd be a better player and his ego might have been "refined" to reflect his abilities and accomplishments, rather than his wants and desires...
Well, I agree he's a much better player than Andre (although I don't think Andre is the only player at Duke whose skillset is somewhat redundant with Barnes's). But I don't know if the upgrade would have made too much of a difference in our overall team dynamic. We still would have been reliant on the three-point shot, our defense would still be poor by Duke standards, we still would have had only one player who could get his own shot, etc.
HB would have been an excellent addition to our team last year. Considering we never really had a SF, that's one position that would have been cemented from the get go. Let's remember how many different line-ups we ran out on the court looking for something that would work.
HB would definitely have helped with rebounding. I know he gets docked for this at UNC, but let's be honest, exactly how many rebounds do you expect to be leftover for HB when you've got Zeller and Henson patroling the paint.
As for HB's defense, I'm not sure why people are so down on him. I seem to recall he played Kyle fairly even last year. Is he a defensive stopper? No, but he was clearly better than anything we could put on the court.
Like others, I have been fascinated by the Barnes story, his strengths and weaknesses on the court, and his personality. It's the last - his personality - that I want to comment on here. It's complicated - both his personality and my response. Had he chosen to attend Duke, and had he behaved exactly the way he has behaved as a UNC guy, I think I'd be very uncomfortable; and I fear my response would be, let's say, hedged.
Thus, I appreciate ChicageHeel's admission re the flaws in Barnes's personality, and think his post properly raises the delicate issue of whether some of the criticism is unbecoming. I suspect the essential element to the argument that we should ease up a bit on a someone so young is complicated by the fact that Barnes has for several years sought, consciously and itself in something of an off-putting way, to present himself as unusually mature and cerebral.
Having myself had some experience with college students, every once in awhile I was faced with someone like Barnes: a young person who clearly had wowed the adults in his life, including teachers and administrators in high school, but who was her/his [usually his] own worst enemy. HB's very unfortunate announcement statement...
"The school that I choose to be my alma mater, indeed, the place where I will leave my legacy, had the right balance of both academics and basketball that which I thought I could achieve the goals I wanted to pursue. Today, I'm proud to announce the school I will attend in the fall of 2010 will be the coach I'm going to Skype..."
... just makes me cringe. It's so overwrought with drama and faux-sophistication that it reads like ... what it is: Harrison's [with or without incompetent PR-help] ego out of control, in words and sort-of-but-not-quite-sentences that don't parse. The syntax is disastrous. The most obvious example is the juxtaposition of the words, "that which." Those words do occasionally parse - as in "I hope Duke does that which leads to exciting, winning basketball." But in Harrison's purple prose, "that" and "which" are redundant, and screw up the rest of the sentence, to boot. That is, even if he had dropped either "that" or "which," the sentence still wouldn't parse. Not even close.
Why berate him for this? [Actually, I hope I'm berating someone who "helped" him write this stuff.] To highlight the fact that Barnes had up to that point in his undoubtedly strong academic life never been given some good advice; or if given it, hadn't accepted it. The advice would have been to tell him that if you're going so consciously and deliberately to present yourself as special, seeking a "legacy," for heaven's sake, you're going to come across to some nice adults as an insufferable snob, and probably not too far down the road. Maybe - depending on Barnes's humility - this: "Harrison, you know I love you, so I'm going to tell you the truth, and you better listen. Your admirable confidence is perilously close to off-putting overconfidence. You really - wake up, now, Harrison, really - need to pay attention to this issue, and observe adults who cross that line, so as to know how to avoid it."
In my own contact with a few such students, precocious to an extent that it was not only irritating but harmful to the young person's own personality and character development, I myself sometimes struggled. It wasn't easy to "confront" a confident young person with so many strengths but a glaring weakness. Sometimes I did it and it worked. Other times, it was no go. In a couple of cases, it just felt so awkward that I didn't even try. In such an extreme case as that of Barnes, I'd really like to know whether any adult had ever counseled him to cool it. The ego-momentum of Harrison Barnes would not have been easy to derail.
I intend here more to empathize with than to blame Barnes's adult advisers and confidants. Heaven knows he's in so many ways an admirable young man. But - and this is obvious - not in all ways. And I do wonder whether he will ever understand that. It would - will - take a trusted, sensible, sensitive, and courageous adult to challenge Harrison's understanding of his place in the world.
It's pretty silly to say "Oh, Barnes only improved and/or played well because of Marshall."
First, one could easily say that Barnes was hindered in the absence of a good PG, and only began to tap his potential when he had legitimate D-I players running the point. After all, in those pre- and post-Marshall games, the entire team had an albatross hanging around its neck (Larry WithDrew) and then a 1-star backup freshman guard. The offense was clearly suboptimal in both instances.
Second, regardless of the first point, what is Barnes more likely to see as a PG teammate in the NBA? Someone similar to Marshall, or someone similar to Drew/White? Since it's clearly the former, I don't see how one should discount Barnes' play in any way because he "only played well when he had a good PG"...because he's going to play with a similarly good PG every night if/when he goes to the NBA.
Third, I just think people are putting too much focus on how Barnes played in the last two games. He shot 44% for the season, and he basically hit a little shooting slump at the end. But shooters have slumps. Curry was shooting like 22% for parts of January/February. Redick was 3-18 against LSU in his final game. It happens, especially against good perimeter-defensive teams like Ohio.
Barnes is a very good player, especially considering he's just a sophomore. His personality is fully deserving of ridicule, but let's not go overboard in downplaying his game by crediting someone else for his positives. He is still a good NBA prospect and will get drafted in the lottery if he decides to leave now.
THIS!
THIS!
THIS!
AND THIS!Quote:
Originally Posted by moonpie23;566341Z
Maybe it's because I watched that Skype fiasco, but this kid gets under my skin like no other Tar Heel. He is such a tool. You know what I think it is? His annoying characteristics such as buying into his own hype, being more style than substance, having a huge a sense of entitlement and, ultimately, his pretty boy lameness reminds me of the most annoying people I knew at Duke! Thank god he didn't go to Duke.
I have had a lot of experience with younger kids (ages 7-12) and a fair amount with teenagers. It is my experience that it is much easier to address these types of ego issues before they hit high school. Truthfully it is something that the parents should be addressing as early as elementary school. It is never too early to teach humility which should never be confused with sportsmanship, the two don't always overlap.
HB has done nothing that I have seen to deserve all the negativity people seem to enjoy tossing his way. From all sides.
I've listened, or read, almost all his press comments for the past two years and he has always handled himself in a very mature manner. He's been straightforward, praised his teammates, and the competition. Nothing he has said has been controversial, that I've seen. His teammates all seem to enjoy playing with him. He's been a good student and representative for his school. He has preformed a a very high level on the court, even if he hasn't met others standards, or even his own.
What I see from some fans is very unbecoming. From one side there's a lot of envy, jealousy and resentment. From the other, a lot unrealistic expectations, simple greed.
Why not just let the amateur psychological, analytical BS go and let HB just be HB.
I say lets just let him find his way, he's still a young adult, and enjoy,(or not if he's playing against your team)...watching him play basketball.