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  1. #101
    alteran is offline All-American, Honorable Mention
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    Feb 2007
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    Durham-- 2 miles from Cameron, baby!

    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by Wheat/"/"/" View Post
    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.
    Oh, yes he has.

    Okay, I'll cop to resentment. I don't so much enjoy it when things go badly for Harrison Barnes as I feel nothing. When I first saw the picture of him with the towel over his head, I thought pretty much like you-- I felt sorry for the kid. Is the world really a better place when cameras get shoved in a kid's face at a moment like that? Of course not. Sure, the kid went to UNC, but whoever he is, of course I empathize.

    Then I realized the photo was of Harrison Barnes and I went, "oh... whatever."

    It all comes down to the skype stunt. What you perceive as a teensy bit kinda maybe over the top was something, much, much more to Duke Nation. It's 2012 now, so let's set the stage for the skype stunt. It's 2009. Duke had lost early in the NCAAs yet again, and has not been to the FF since 2004. UNC sure felt like it was eclipsing us, what with a recent title and beating us 4 years in a row in Cameron. We don't know 2010 is coming. Public perception is that our teams have been alarmingly unatheletic (yes, I know that quote came later) for quite some time, and that we are consistently losing our big recruiting battles, particularly to Huckleberry the over-his-players bus driver-- who's been recruiting negatively against us.

    As Skype day approaches, HB makes a call to Coach K-- he's got some key last minute questions. K goes to Ames, settles down Prince Harry, and leaves feeling pretty confident. Why shouldn't he be? Clearly Harrison Jordan Barnes is a great kid who would NEVER manipulate a legendary coach and thousands and thousands of fans just to hype himself up? Would he?

    Then the skype event comes. My initial take is like yours-- hey, it's over the top and he chose THEM. Screw him. I'll be over it when the season starts. He's got a right to make his decisions, even if they're tragically misguided. Duke and UNC fans will move on from this like we have with dozens of other great recruits over the years who went to the other school.

    But then people ask-- where did the jersey photo come from? Well, we find out that while K was summoned by Prince Harry to calm his jitters (seemingly successfully), Huckeberry was driving around Ames at the same time with what's already been agreed to be Harrison Barnes' jersey. (We know this because they told us-- apparently, they wanted us to know.) HB later makes the comment that the choice between Duke and UNC was never really close.

    The whole skype day fiasco was a fraud, and a calculated FU to Coach K and the Duke fan base. And they wanted us to know.

    Imagine how you felt as a UNC fan during the worst of the Gut era or middle of the Doh era. (The analogy isn't quite right but hang with me.) Then imagine some kid pulling what Harrison did-- but to UNC. I think you'd remember it a little. Maybe a little too much.

    Now, don't think I don't have empathy for UNC players despite the rivalry. I felt serious empathy for Zeller after this year's game at the Nose Dome, particularly when people wanted to make him the dog. I also felt bad for Marshall-- you could tell it was eating him up to sit on the sidelines and it was NOT enjoyable to me in the least even though I was thrilled UNC lost.

    Without the skype stunt, I'd probably feel the same way about Barnes.

    Let's be real-- I'm treating him exactly like he wanted me to. Like he BEGGED me to. He's a kid that has said he doesn't want to offend any person ever, because hey! Everybody buys shoes, right?

    But Duke fans, well... we don't rate like everybody else in the world in his book.

    Fine with us. Just don't expect our tears.

  2. #102
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    San Francisco
    Quote Originally Posted by Wheat/"/"/" View Post
    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.
    Wheat, I'm surprised you aren't the slightest bit critical of some of things Barnes has done. I will readily admit that Redick carried himself with a cocky air and yapped on the court quite a bit in his early years at Duke. Kyle Singler knocked the ball away from I've forgotten who at the end of the 2008 UNC game at Cameron as the closing seconds ticked away on a frustrating loss. Austin, while I think he gets too much of a bad rap, still brought a lot of the scrutiny on himself with his "destroy Lebron" comments. So you say NOTHING that HB has done deserves some scrutiny? Even if you let the Skype thing go (which I do, by the way), you've still got the silly self-made Black Falcon paraphernalia that he wore before he even suited up for a game. You've also got his calling a reporter in the middle of a season in which his TEAM was struggling to see if he still had a chance to make the AP All American team at the end of the season. Now, I'll be honest, these aren't horrible offenses. They don't mean he's not a good teammate, not a good basketball player, doesn't care about winning, is selfish, or a bad person. But they do give fan bases, especially his arch rivals fan base whom he spurned during his recruitment, some easy targets for dart throwing.

    Personally, HB doesn't bother me that much. He's not dominant like I thought he'd be, which is a relief. Otherwise, I don't know much about him other than these few funny anecdotes.

  3. #103
    Quote Originally Posted by COYS View Post
    Wheat, I'm surprised you aren't the slightest bit critical of some of things Barnes has done. I will readily admit that Redick carried himself with a cocky air and yapped on the court quite a bit in his early years at Duke. Kyle Singler knocked the ball away from I've forgotten who at the end of the 2008 UNC game at Cameron as the closing seconds ticked away on a frustrating loss. Austin, while I think he gets too much of a bad rap, still brought a lot of the scrutiny on himself with his "destroy Lebron" comments. So you say NOTHING that HB has done deserves some scrutiny? Even if you let the Skype thing go (which I do, by the way), you've still got the silly self-made Black Falcon paraphernalia that he wore before he even suited up for a game. You've also got his calling a reporter in the middle of a season in which his TEAM was struggling to see if he still had a chance to make the AP All American team at the end of the season. Now, I'll be honest, these aren't horrible offenses. They don't mean he's not a good teammate, not a good basketball player, doesn't care about winning, is selfish, or a bad person. But they do give fan bases, especially his arch rivals fan base whom he spurned during his recruitment, some easy targets for dart throwing.

    Personally, HB doesn't bother me that much. He's not dominant like I thought he'd be, which is a relief. Otherwise, I don't know much about him other than these few funny anecdotes.
    I know some very UNC centric fans who typically defend anything Baby Blue who are more than a little put off by Barnes... one is my mother-in-law who will fight you over "her heels"...

    Hey, I was never a big fan of Josh McRoberts... it's ok to have certain players that just rub you the wrong way...

    Someone (too lazy to go back and see) said they disliked Henson more than Barnes. Not me, I kind of like Henson. Sure he spaces out at times and does silly things (slapping at balls, rim hanging, etc..) BUT he does look like he is enjoying himself, and I have seen him laugh at himself when he air balled a FT once, so you gotta love someone who can laugh at themselves right?

  4. #104
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    NC
    Quote Originally Posted by oldnavy View Post
    Someone (too lazy to go back and see) said they disliked Henson more than Barnes. Not me, I kind of like Henson. Sure he spaces out at times and does silly things (slapping at balls, rim hanging, etc..) BUT he does look like he is enjoying himself, and I have seen him laugh at himself when he air balled a FT once, so you gotta love someone who can laugh at themselves right?
    What I dislike about Henson is that he has a habit of taunting opponents and he is not afraid to escalate a tense situation with false bravado (like the time he got in Rivers' face and started walking through him after Bullock fouled Rivers in the UNC game at Chapel Hill). Just seems like a punk. Definitely a happy-go-lucky guy when things go well, but when adversity strikes the punk side comes out.

  5. #105
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    Feb 2008
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    Lewisville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post
    What I dislike about Henson is that he has a habit of taunting opponents and he is not afraid to escalate a tense situation with false bravado (like the time he got in Rivers' face and started walking through him after Bullock fouled Rivers in the UNC game at Chapel Hill). Just seems like a punk. Definitely a happy-go-lucky guy when things go well, but when adversity strikes the punk side comes out.
    Henson just comes across as a standard obnoxious Carolina player...kind of a Rasheed Wallace wannabee. Somehow he rarely gets T'd up by the refs.
    The worst Heel had to be Makhtar Ndiaye, but Henson is not in that class.

    Barnes is just kind of a different guy; actually, I think we heard that during his recruitment.

  6. #106
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    Feb 2007
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    NC
    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    Henson just comes across as a standard obnoxious Carolina player...kind of a Rasheed Wallace wannabee. Somehow he rarely gets T'd up by the refs.
    The worst Heel had to be Makhtar Ndiaye, but Henson is not in that class.

    Barnes is just kind of a different guy; actually, I think we heard that during his recruitment.
    I agree completely.

  7. #107
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post
    What I dislike about Henson is that he has a habit of taunting opponents and he is not afraid to escalate a tense situation with false bravado (like the time he got in Rivers' face and started walking through him after Bullock fouled Rivers in the UNC game at Chapel Hill). Just seems like a punk. Definitely a happy-go-lucky guy when things go well, but when adversity strikes the punk side comes out.
    Well you do make a good point...

    I guess I just can't take the macho stuff serious from a 7 foot 180 pound stick figure!

    I just never gave his bravado much thought since he was probably the LEAST intimidating guy to be on the court at any given time...

    He just makes me laugh!

  8. #108

    More N&O

    Here's Tom Sorensen's take:

    As fluid as Barnes is, he ought to be fun to watch. He’s not fun. He’s frustrating.

    His supporters claim that we have unreal expectations.

    What’s unreal?

    He’s 6-foot-8, somewhat athletic and has an array of moves that enable him to get his jumper off against almost any defender. But if he has moves that enable him to beat that defender off the dribble he left them in Chapel Hill or his native Iowa.

    Is Barnes merely a tall shooter of jump shots? If so, every NBA team can use one because every NBA team has one. Harrison, meet the Charlotte Bobcats’ Matt Carroll.

    Should Barnes stay in school a year and work on his game? He did that after his freshman year. Not only did he fail to improve, but he also no longer is a candidate to be one of the first players picked in the draft. Last year, he was.

    Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/03/...#storylink=cpy

  9. #109
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    Fayetteville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post
    What I dislike about Henson is that he has a habit of taunting opponents and he is not afraid to escalate a tense situation with false bravado (like the time he got in Rivers' face and started walking through him after Bullock fouled Rivers in the UNC game at Chapel Hill). Just seems like a punk. Definitely a happy-go-lucky guy when things go well, but when adversity strikes the punk side comes out.
    This is how I've felt about Henson from day one. I didn't see him willing to do anything to Bernard James when James leveled him from behind in Tallahassee. He just got up and tucked his tail between his legs like a whipped dog. In fact that is exactly the time I said to myself that team wasn't destined for a championship, because no one took exception to that play.

  10. #110
    I rather dislike Henson, who strikes me as a braggart and a show off who mouths off. He doesn't have a tenth of 'Sheeds charisma or likeability.

  11. #111
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    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ash View Post
    As has been said, and reported by people much closer to the situation, it seemed that Harrison did not handle his interactions with the Duke staff in a mature way.

    When you add in his attitude (most noticeably demonstrated by the famous handshake and congrats from last years Duke/Carolina game at Duke), his interest in his "brand" before he has actually accomplished enough by most peoples judgment to have EARNED a brand (he is the only player I've ever seen who has actively and noticeably pushed his own nickname in the form of shirts and necklaces and the like), and of course the massively over the top hype that he seemed to embrace, you can see why some people might not be huge fans of Harrison Barnes.
    I guess I missed this...details?

    Quote Originally Posted by COYS View Post
    Kyle Singler knocked the ball away from I've forgotten who at the end of the 2008 UNC game at Cameron as the closing seconds ticked away on a frustrating loss.
    I remember him doing that against Clemson at Clemson, did it happen against unc too?

  12. #112
    I admit to feeling sorry for Harrison Barnes during his freshman year. He wasn't living up to unrealistic expectations. I thought he improved as the year went on - he just went through what I think of as the normal freshman process. Big fish in a little pond needs to adjust to being in a bigger pond. I think this is true for many freshman that come in as one of the best in the country in whatever area and now compete more directly with other talented freshman in that area.

    I didn't care for his whole skype decision announcement. I do remember being relieved that it wasn't Coach K and the Duke team buying into that nonsense on the other end. I would have liked to see him in a Duke uniform but if it meant Duke had to participate in that silly little HB lovefest, i'm glad he didn't select Duke. I never like players giving themselves a nickname. Nicknames, in my opinion, are best determined by circumstances and by others, unless it is a natural outcome of your given name. I think they mean more that way.

  13. #113
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ash View Post
    I rather dislike Henson, who strikes me as a braggart and a show off who mouths off. He doesn't have a tenth of 'Sheeds charisma or likeability.
    Ummmmmm--what likeability? I loathed the guy when he was at unc and his act was tired early into his nba career.

  14. #114
    I don't share any special feelings for Barnes. I despise all aspects of UNC equally.

  15. #115
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    Atlanta, GA
    Quote Originally Posted by MaxAMillion View Post
    I don't share any special feelings for Barnes. I despise all aspects of UNC equally.
    I couldn't have said it any better myself. HB seems to be a bit of an enigma. On one hand we always hear how "cerebral", soft spoken and intelligent he is, but then he does the whole Black Falcon shtick, the Skype "I want to be kicked in the nose" college choice, and then does the interview with "The Atlantic" where to me he comes across like a self-righteous putz. I will say treating his career like a business makes sense. I'm a capitalist in the purest sense, but I don't claim or want to be the second coming of John D Rockefeller (in comparison to MJ and HB).

    I wish him the best in life as a person, but as a Duke fan he will always be "one of those" from Carolina. Maybe the Hawks will draft him and I can berate him some down here in Atlanta.

  16. #116
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    Charleston, SC
    Quote Originally Posted by MaxAMillion View Post
    I don't share any special feelings for Barnes. I despise all aspects of UNC equally.
    Like a very wise man (my father) once told me... THEY DESERVE EACH OTHER.

    Think of it like this: What has always been the pet peeve about unc? And I don't necessarily mean the players but more in general the fans and the attitude of the program. It is their sense of entitlement. Many would call it arrogance.

    You can't defend HB by just writing his actions off as a young guy who makes mistakes, or by saying that he doesn't deserve criticism because no one his age does. While Barnes may not be "Rasheed Wallace in your face" arrogant, the kid is full of himself and there is plenty of evidence to support that case. And if you ask me, he most definitely chose the best school to "leave his legacy". Chapel Hill and Harrison Barnes, a match made in heaven.

  17. #117
    Quote Originally Posted by CharlestonDevil View Post
    ... Chapel Hill and Harrison Barnes, a match made in heaven.
    During the UNC football cheating scandal, the State fans had a field day with the state motto ("To be, rather than to seem") ... inverting the motto so as to describe Carolina's arrogance, sense of entitlement and superiority, and self-delusion about doing things the right ("Carolina") way and better than others, and how all that did not match the sordid facts. So: "To seem, rather than to be."

    Seems the same applies to Barnes ... the Black Falcon accoutrement, zero ACC championships, no final 4's, zero's from 3 in the most recent big game ... he wasn't the best or most important player on his own team, which didn't bring home the hardware ... he didn't match the self-created hype, and as yet hasn't created the legacy, and the brand is taking a major hit (if it ever got off the ground) ... "To seem, rather than to be."

  18. #118
    Join Date
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    Inman, SC & Fort Myers, FL
    To paraphrase a very famous political cut down: "I knew Michael Jordan, and HB isn't him!"

  19. #119
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Washington, D.C.

    A possibility

    Quote Originally Posted by mgtr View Post
    To paraphrase a very famous political cut down: "I knew Michael Jordan, and HB isn't him!"
    Maybe Barnes will stay at UNC, but his brand will head to the NBA?

  20. #120
    Quote Originally Posted by MChambers View Post
    Maybe Barnes will stay at UNC, but his brand will head to the NBA?
    Nah, his brand went to Fuquay a couple years ago.

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