ACC Tournament 2012: Harrison Barnes Will Solidify NBA Draft Stock

In the 2012 ACC Tournament, UNC star Harrison Barnes hopes to prove that he is the elite player that the nation expects him to be.

The 6’8” forward, who decided to return to the Tar Heels for his sophomore season, is considered to be one of the top players in the upcoming NBA Draft. Now that we’ve reached March, this is the time that Barnes and others will be forced to step up and show that they’re as impressive as their own hype makes them out to be. Barnes, who is 19 years old and was born in Iowa, should have no problem rising to the occasion.

Barnes was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school, and received looks from Duke, Kansas and UCLA before eventually deciding on spending his college career at the University of North Carolina.

His 15.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG made him an elite college freshman, receiving 2011 Second Team All-ACC and ACC Freshman of the Year honors. His highlights of the season were distinct to his own explosiveness as a player. This includes an eight-point personal run in one minute to take the Kentucky eight-point lead down to two points in the regional finals.

Other personal bests from last season include seven offensive rebounds against Marquette and four three-pointers against the Washington Huskies.

What impressed fans most of all last season was his play in the ACC Tournament. Highlighted most of all by his performance against Clemson in the ACC Semifinal, Barnes became the seventh player of all time (first since 1995) to score 40 points in ACC Tournament history, including the most overtime points a player has scored in overtime.

After a convincing win for No. 6 North Carolina over No. 4 Duke, Barnes comes into the ACC Tournament with the regular season title and top overall seed.

Barnes scored 16 points for UNC (27-4, 14-2) and helped finish off his regular season numbers with an overall improvement on his freshman season statistics.

For Barnes, his 17.4 PPG was a leap from his first effort with UNC, and also improved his steals from 0.7 SPG to 1.1 SPG.

Barnes was UNC’s leading scorer, and the third best scorer in the ACC (behind Terrell Stoglin, 21.2, and Mike Scott, 17.9).

At this point in time, Barnes is projected as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. In what is considered to be one of the best draft classes in years, Barnes stands out against names like Terrence Jones, Jared Sullinger, Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers and teammate Tyler Zeller.

If Barnes is to ensure that coming back for his sophomore season was the “right decision” for the standout athlete, then a strong showing in the 2012 ACC Tournament is absolutely in order. The prospective lottery pick certainly has the talent, and now is the time to prove his history.

His first game will be in the quarterfinals on March 9 on ESPN2, and he will play the winner of the matchup between Maryland and Wake Forrest. Barnes will see a maximum of three games in the tournament due to UNC’s first round bye.

Fans will have nothing but excitement to look forward to when Barnes take the court in the coming week.

Follow @BryanKalbrosky.