Austin Rivers - where there is smoke, there is fire

[dukeballboy88]

i honestly believe barnes will be at unc for 3 years. roy will not adjust to his team this year and force kids to play out of the norm. barnes will be forced to play the 4 and guard bigger stronger guys and look like a defensive liability. unc's guards will continue to struggle in the high paced or wild offense roy likes to run. bullock will resort to jacking long 3's and he will also struggle. barnes will be the only person to score for them and unc will go 18-12. they will win 2 games in the acc tourney and by that it will bump them to a 8thh seed in the tourney. then they will beat the 9 seed then #1 seed Michigan st. will crush them and the nba scouts will be asking, was HB over hyped? barnes will come back his sophmore year and by that time ar will have commited tto the tar heels and the same thing will happen to him. i look for both to be on unc's campus for 3 years and both stock dropping out of the top 10.

[duke09hms]

i honestly believe barnes will be at unc for 3 years. roy will not adjust to his team this year and force kids to play out of the norm. barnes will be forced to play the 4 and guard bigger stronger guys and look like a defensive liability. unc's guards will continue to struggle in the high paced or wild offense roy likes to run. bullock will resort to jacking long 3's and he will also struggle. barnes will be the only person to score for them and unc will go 18-12. they will win 2 games in the acc tourney and by that it will bump them to a 8thh seed in the tourney. then they will beat the 9 seed then #1 seed Michigan st. will crush them and the nba scouts will be asking, was HB over hyped? barnes will come back his sophmore year and by that time ar will have commited tto the tar heels and the same thing will happen to him. i look for both to be on unc's campus for 3 years and both stock dropping out of the top 10.

You've got to be kidding me. Who is this guy?!

[uh_no]

You've got to be kidding me. Who is this guy?!

he's entitled to his opinion of what he things will go down.

Its an opinion which is reasoned...the current team makeup and likelihood of a lockout make the potential to return for at least 2 years greater...now whether I agree or not...

[jimsumner]

Folks, Harrison Barnes is the consensus number one pick in the 2011 NBA draft. I'm about as likely to be playing for UNC in 2013 as is Harrison Barnes.

[Jderf]

he's entitled to his opinion of what he things will go down.

Its an opinion which is reasoned...the current team makeup and likelihood of a lockout make the potential to return for at least 2 years greater...now whether I agree or not...

Reasoned? I think that's a stretch. Possible? Maybe. But there's still a huge gap between possible and plausible.

[superdave]

Folks, Harrison Barnes is the consensus number one pick in the 2011 NBA draft. I'm about as likely to be playing for UNC in 2013 as is Harrison Barnes.

Jim
How do you think Duke will handle its players flirting with the draft next year when a lockout is likely but not yet a certainty? Will anyone petition the NCAA to be flexible on this? Undergrads will declare for the draft in April but a lockout wont happen until October or so.
Superdave

[enick66]

If Barnes is slated to be the #1 overall pick, he will go pro. Even if there is a lockout, Nike will sign him to a $25 million contract, so he won't be hurting for cash. He should have an opportunity to be the focus of the North Carolina offense this year, where he should average over 20 points per game. Unless he gets hurt, Barnes is going pro, guaranteed.

[UrinalCake]

I have to agree that Barnes will likely go. The last time there was an NBA lockout (2005?) there had also been a lot of talk about college guys staying rather than being unemployed, but I don't recall it actually affecting the decisions of any of the top guys. The guys who were expected to go went ahead and declared. There are a lot of potential reasons for this - endorsement money, agents telling the players that the lockout won't really happen, concerns that the following year's draft would be overcrowded, etc. - but at any rate I wouldn't count on a mass trend of players staying in college.

[papa whiskey]

i honestly believe barnes will be at unc for 3 years. roy will not adjust to his team this year and force kids to play out of the norm. barnes will be forced to play the 4 and guard bigger stronger guys and look like a defensive liability. unc's guards will continue to struggle in the high paced or wild offense roy likes to run. bullock will resort to jacking long 3's and he will also struggle. barnes will be the only person to score for them and unc will go 18-12. they will win 2 games in the acc tourney and by that it will bump them to a 8thh seed in the tourney. then they will beat the 9 seed then #1 seed Michigan st. will crush them and the nba scouts will be asking, was HB over hyped? barnes will come back his sophmore year and by that time ar will have commited tto the tar heels and the same thing will happen to him. i look for both to be on unc's campus for 3 years and both stock dropping out of the top 10.

He may have been joking. At least I hope he was. That's how it came off to me.

[Gthoma2a]

No way is Duke "likely" to win the championship this year. Is Duke the most likely team to win it all? Absolutely.

I am speaking of relatively, but the ground between us and the competition seems to have grown a bit IMO. The reason that I say this was that even before we won a championship this year, I thought next year was going to be our year. Kyrie is just so good, we have a team that can shoot, play defense, and run people out of the gym. We have guys who can do whatever needs to be done and the coach who always seems to know what needs to be done. That is why I say "likely", but the true feeling is that we are the most likely by a pretty decent distance. The tournament will always require some luck, but I have a high level of optimism for next year and plan to keep it (veterans will keep the young talent in line IMO).

[JohnGalt]

If Barnes is slated to be the #1 overall pick, he will go pro. Even if there is a lockout, Nike will sign him to a $25 million contract, so he won't be hurting for cash. He should have an opportunity to be the focus of the North Carolina offense this year, where he should average over 20 points per game. Unless he gets hurt, Barnes is going pro, guaranteed.

THAT...is a tall order. No freshman has done that in the ACC in quite some time and only a handful (maybe 2) have done it in major college basketball over the last 10 years.

I do agree that if he's slated as Numero Uno with a fat contract from Nike waiting...he'd be foolish not to go.

[MChambers]

I am speaking of relatively, but the ground between us and the competition seems to have grown a bit IMO. The reason that I say this was that even before we won a championship this year, I thought next year was going to be our year. Kyrie is just so good, we have a team that can shoot, play defense, and run people out of the gym. We have guys who can do whatever needs to be done and the coach who always seems to know what needs to be done. That is why I say "likely", but the true feeling is that we are the most likely by a pretty decent distance. The tournament will always require some luck, but I have a high level of optimism for next year and plan to keep it (veterans will keep the young talent in line IMO).

I can live with "most likely".

[enick66]

THAT...is a tall order. No freshman has done that in the ACC in quite some time and only a handful (maybe 2) have done it in major college basketball over the last 10 years.

I do agree that if he's slated as Numero Uno with a fat contract from Nike waiting...he'd be foolish not to go.

Hansbrough averaged 19 a game as a freshman and Barnes has an opportunity to make as large an impact as Hansbrough did, except Barnes is much better than Hansbrough. I will go out on a limb and say, barring injury, Barnes will be top 5 in scoring in ACC as a Freshman.

[Class of '94]

Hansbrough averaged 19 a game as a freshman and Barnes has an opportunity to make as large an impact as Hansbrough did, except Barnes is much better than Hansbrough. I will go out on a limb and say, barring injury, Barnes will be top 5 in scoring in ACC as a Freshman.

Keep in mind that Hansbrough, as a freshman, lived at the free-throw line and got a majority of his points playing inside and getting fouled. I agree with you that HB is more talented; but I'm not ready to say his shooting and scoring ability from the perimeter is so good that he will be able to dominate and score as many points as a perimeter player the way that Hansbrough did as an inside player. Just my opinion.

[sdotbarbee]

Keep in mind that Hansbrough, as a freshman, lived at the free-throw line and got a majority of his points playing inside and getting fouled. I agree with you that HB is more talented; but I'm not ready to say his shooting and scoring ability from the perimeter is so good that he will be able to dominate and score as many points as a perimeter player the way that Hansbrough did as an inside player. Just my opinion.

Well HB doesn't have to score 19 a game to be the #1 pick, it is the upside and the atleticism that he has that will make him that. After dominating college for 4 years hansbrough was still not a top 10 pick, simply because he is not athletic enough to be a force in the NBA. NBA is all about potential, if there was no age limit he would have been the #1 pick this year.

[Azdukefan]

Keep in mind that Hansbrough, as a freshman, lived at the free-throw line and got a majority of his points playing inside and getting fouled. I agree with you that HB is more talented; but I'm not ready to say his shooting and scoring ability from the perimeter is so good that he will be able to dominate and score as many points as a perimeter player the way that Hansbrough did as an inside player. Just my opinion.

He lived at the free-throw line his entire career at Carolina. Hasntravel would lower his shoulder and initiate the contact and still get the call. 20/game for Barnes seems like a reach but wouldn't surprise me. I actually could live with him being as good as the hype as long as the other guys are exactly who they were when I saw them in person at 82-50.

[airowe]

So, Austin will announce his decision on one of the ESPN family of networks, most likely ESPNU. Now that we know Coach K was using Skype overseas, do you think it will go down like that?

I'm sure with a Dad like Doc he'll have Austin contact the other coaches first, but it still should be quite the spectacle!

[nmduke2001]

THAT...is a tall order. No freshman has done that in the ACC in quite some time and only a handful (maybe 2) have done it in major college basketball over the last 10 years.

I can think of two off the top of my head in Durant and Beasley. Also, Curry if you consider that major college basketball.

[SilkyJ]

So, Austin will announce his decision on one of the ESPN family of networks, most likely ESPNU. Now that we know Coach K was using Skype overseas, do you think it will go down like that?

This sounds like breaking news! Did he just announce this or something?

[Gthoma2a]

I am pretty positive he didn't announce, but I am thinking CTC and he forgoes his other visits. That is one of the events ESPNU will already be covering, and if he has an announcement, you know that will be covered live on a night where fans from around the country will be watching to see the big programs opening nights. That would be huge IMO and the best way to say how great the other coaches and programs are, but he has found his, and he could send a stadium nuts. In person with Coach K and with the world watching, who wouldn't want to do that?