Is Harrison Barnes a bust?

[sportstalent]

Funny that in talking about Barnes, is that he improved in his shooting numbers, except free throws...the hype that he had is impossible to live up too unless he becomes National POY while winning a National Championship...

 

[sportstalent]

Barnes plays on an uptempo team with a great pg and two lottery picks in the front court. That's not a handicap. Lopez was an All Big East pick and averaged almost 18 a game as a freshman, to say he wasn't even really a decent player until he was a senior is ridiculous.

Did you see Lopez play in college, just asking?

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Did you see Lopez play in college, just asking?

Yep, that's why I made the comparison. He wasn't near as good of shooter as Harrison but much, much better at getting to the rim. Also, was a much better defender.

But both were very solid college players who just could not live up to the massive hype surrounding them. Lopez was supposed to be the best guard to ever play in the Big East, he simply turned out to be one of the best guards to play in the Big East in the mid to late 90's.

 

[sportstalent]

Yep, that's why I made the comparison. He wasn't near as good of shooter as Harrison but much, much better at getting to the rim. Also, was a much better defender.

But both were very solid college players who just could not live up to the massive hype surrounding them. Lopez was supposed to be the best guard to ever play in the Big East, he simply turned out to be one of the best guards to play in the Big East in the mid to late 90's.

I agree with the hype machine surrounding both was rediculous with more surrounding Barnes.

The problem I have is the Big East was not good at that time either...The ACC, Pac 10 and Big Ten drilled them over and over again.
It was far easier for Lopez to get recognition in that conference at that time. Lopez did have Zendon Hamilton as his teammate who was also on the all-freshman team.
Wasn't at the time Lopez in the Big East about the time they were screwing around with the six foul limit too? I just do not remember Lopez standing out and that has nothing to do with the hype...I thought he had a good to great Senior year, but when you take a look at his overall career, he just never seemed to get better.

 

[trj]

Since everyone is tossing out names here he reminds me a lot of Calbert Cheaney not only physically, but their games are similar, also.

He will have a solid 10 to 12 year career, be a double digit scorer, a all-star game or two. He will have a hot wife, cute kids and plenty of business opportunities once he is done playing so him not being a HOF'er is not the end of the world.

 

[thejumper5]

Regarding Felipe Lopez--One of the big reasons he failed to really stand out was that he was in the Big East at the wrong time. His freshman year corresponded to Allen Iverson's freshman year and Ray Allen's sophomore year. Those are arguably the two greatest guards in Big East history, and Lopez was over-shadowed by them for two seasons. If Lopez had come along 3 years earlier or 3 years later, his college career would have been judged very differently.

 

[RocknRollface]

Looks like an offensive 3 to me? What do you want?

Sure thats where he can play, but when I think prototype I think Carmelo Anthony, a guy who can slash off the ball, post up, take people off the dribble and shoot jumpers. Barnes doesn't have most of those aspect to his game.

 

[RocknRollface]

Bad comparison, he is far better than Lopez...he has been dinged up this year; he had a better year last year and no injuries.

He is far from a bust, but being a preseason All-American prior to setting foot on campus is the kind of hype nobody will live up too.

Think about it, he was named that before his college career started...anything short of that out of any season is now considered a disappointment because it makes the people that put him on that pedestal bad; therefore more is made of his career than most players. Those same people that put him on the pedestal are the same ones who are criticizing him now...makes a lot of sense.

Most of the #1 players out of high school end up being all Americans so it wasn't that much of a stretch.

John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Jared Sullinger, Anthony Davis all recent freshman firs team all americans.

Given that Barnes had more hype than any of them it would be natural to assume he would be close to that level.

 

[pacoyal]

To say he is a bust is laughable. Being a bust, IMHO, is somebody that can't produce going into college. He has.

If you wanna go from there, I get it. Next part is that he won't get drafted. He will.

Last is how he will do in the NBA. We don't know yet.

 

[RocknRollface]

To say he is a bust is laughable. Being a bust, IMHO, is somebody that can't produce going into college. He has.

If you wanna go from there, I get it. Next part is that he won't get drafted. He will.

Last is how he will do in the NBA. We don't know yet.

I don't think anyone is saying he won't be drafted.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

I agree with the hype machine surrounding both was rediculous with more surrounding Barnes.

The problem I have is the Big East was not good at that time either...The ACC, Pac 10 and Big Ten drilled them over and over again.
It was far easier for Lopez to get recognition in that conference at that time. Lopez did have Zendon Hamilton as his teammate who was also on the all-freshman team.
Wasn't at the time Lopez in the Big East about the time they were screwing around with the six foul limit too? I just do not remember Lopez standing out and that has nothing to do with the hype...I thought he had a good to great Senior year, but when you take a look at his overall career, he just never seemed to get better.

The Big East was somewhat down at the time, but Lopez's freshman year corresponded with somewhat of a Big East resurgence. He was on the the SI cover of the issues which featured him, Iverson, Ray Allen and Kerry Kittles. But the ACC has not been very strong during Barnes' time there either, Maryland and Ga Tech are way down. NC State was doing much before their late season run this year.

Barnes was supposed to be a guy who could take over games. He's a very solid wing player, who has flashes throughout games but he has never put it all together and become the dominant player people thought he could be. He's basically a really good shooter, he can get his pull up jumper any time he wants, but if that's not falling he struggles. He doesn't have the ability to consistently get to the rim, he doesn't have a great post game, he tends to play smaller than he is. I just think him and Lopez both were very good college players when you remove the hype, but neither of them have come anywhere near living up to their billing.

The six foul limit was early 90's, maybe '91-'92, but it was before he played in the Big East.

 

[EddyP]

Barnes is a good college player on a good college team. He's a spot up jump shooter. He can't take over a game and he isn't that good. He'll play in the NBA, but he is just ok. /thread.

 

[StatelineHawk]

Not a bust. Just over-hyped coming out of HS. Been about what I expected. Being named pre-season all-american before he had played a game was ridiculous.

 

[jacknicholson]

Not surprisingly, Harrison isn't getting a lot of love from Duke in response to this article:

Brand Gone Bust: Harrison Barnes's two years with the North Carolina Tar Heels - Grantland

Here is what the Duke Basketball Report comments have to say:

Harrison Barnes - "The Brand"

 

[tm3308]

Not surprisingly, Harrison isn't getting a lot of love from Duke in response to this article:

Brand Gone Bust: Harrison Barnes's two years with the North Carolina Tar Heels - Grantland

Here is what the Duke Basketball Report comments have to say:

Harrison Barnes - "The Brand"

I actually thought those comments were largely supportive of Barnes, or at least as supportive as Duke fans can be of a UNC player. They had more venom for the article than Barnes.

 

[jacknicholson]

I actually thought those comments were largely supportive of Barnes, or at least as supportive as Duke fans can be of a UNC player. They had more venom for the article than Barnes.

Actually they were not that bad at all.....

They were somewhat understanding, which is hard to believe, a sense of civility on a college basketball board about intense rivalries.....

Harrison will do alright, making millions of dollars a year starting for an NBA team in time.....

 

[Hawkfnntn]

It seems kids today get so far ahead of themselves. Get good at what you do. Let yourself be a kid and grow up before you start with the "branding" Lebron was a once in a lifetime kind of kid. I think this is a case of a kid that was put on a pedestal by fan's and media and he started to believe his press clippings. I don't doubt that he works hard and has a good work ethic. So does Matt Gatens. That doesn't guarantee either will be an NBA superstar. I just feel that it leaves the door open for dissapointment when you start believing your own hype before having accomplished anything.

 

[hawkforlife9]

I don't think you could ever call a kid a bust when he could of started for any team in the country as a freshman. There is obviously disappointment in that he didn't live up to the hype. He'll make a great pro... nobody will ever be MJ.

 

[olivecourt]

Two points:

Anybody who gets mad at "the hype" surrounding Harrison Barnes needs to acknowledge that a good part of it comes from Harrison himself. Yes, the #1 recruit is always going to be hyped. But no, they aren't all going to announce their signing by cuing to a Skype feed of their future coach, teammates, and a damned choir singing a fight song. They also don't all give interviews about their "brand" when they haven't accomplished anything beyond the high school level (forget Final Fours-- Barnes hasn't even won an ACC title at UNC). Read the Grantland article and this Atlantic piece for more on how Barnes has hyped himself at every stage: Moneyballer - Magazine - The Atlantic

Second, it's pretty clear that basketball is just one of many things that Barnes is interested in. That is completely his right, and he seems like a happy guy who will have an interesting and rewarding life. But pretty much every guy who has had success at the NBA level has been obsessed with basketball. Does it reach an unhealthy level? Yes, of course it does. But that doesn't get around the fact that the top 20-30 guys in the league at any point pretty much live for basketball. Even the guys like Dwight Howard who want to act and dress up and do all of that stuff are pretty maniacal when they get on the court. Does anyone see that in Harrison Barnes? If he had some of the limitations he has but was absolutely obsessed with the sport, I could see him really upping his game and becoming an All-Star. As it stands, he seems like his ceiling is a #3 or #4 scoring option on a good team who hurts you on the defensive end. Nothing wrong with that, but I don't see how that is going to translate to the sort of off-court success he seems to want to have.

 

[hogeye]

Second, it's pretty clear that basketball is just one of many things that Barnes is interested in. That is completely his right, and he seems like a happy guy who will have an interesting and rewarding life. But pretty much every guy who has had success at the NBA level has been obsessed with basketball. Does it reach an unhealthy level? Yes, of course it does. But that doesn't get around the fact that the top 20-30 guys in the league at any point pretty much live for basketball. Even the guys like Dwight Howard who want to act and dress up and do all of that stuff are pretty maniacal when they get on the court. Does anyone see that in Harrison Barnes? If he had some of the limitations he has but was absolutely obsessed with the sport, I could see him really upping his game and becoming an All-Star. As it stands, he seems like his ceiling is a #3 or #4 scoring option on a good team who hurts you on the defensive end. Nothing wrong with that, but I don't see how that is going to translate to the sort of off-court success he seems to want to have.

Michael Jordan may be the best argument against this line of thinking. Jordan had many other interests besides basketball. A guy who even left the league mid-career to pursue an interest in baseball. He has a well established interest in golf. He likes to gamble. He is an entrepreneur. He did commercials for maybe more products than any athlete ever. He's involved in some kind of motor racing business now. The guy has always had multiple interests in everything under the sun it seems.