Harrison Barnes: Roy Williams Would Be Wise To Run Offense Through UNC Star
Losing a point guard of Kendall Marshall's caliber would be devastating to any team's NCAA Tournament title hopes, as it would appear to be for North Carolina.
Unlike most squads, though, the Tar Heels have other studs with whom Roy Williams can entrust ball-handling duties.
Namely, Harrison Barnes.
To be sure, Barnes is hardly the ideal option to replace Marshall's production at the point. For all his gifts as a scorer and a shooter, Barnes isn't exactly a creative force on the court, though, in his defense, he's never really been asked to be one.
Who'd need him to, what with Marshall being such a proficient passer and distributor?
And it's not as though Carolina planned to lose guards Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald to season-ending injuries earlier on in the campaign.
That being said, Barnes has had the ball in his hands enough of the time—and taken good enough care of it (fewer than two turnovers per game in two seasons)—to demonstrate a solid handle.
Solid enough, anyway, to make him a 17.3-point-per-game scorer.
And it's not as though the Heels would need Barnes to work all that far out of his comfort zone to succeed offensively. They should be fine so long as Barnes can get the ball down low to John Henson and ACC Player of the Year Tyler Zeller, both of whom should know full well what to do with it from there.
Frankly, those responsibilities should be well within the realm of capability for shooting guard Reggie Bullock and Marshall's backup, freshman guard Stilman White.
In all likelihood, making up for Marshall's absence will require each and every one of Roy's boys to pick up some slack, to exert extra effort and go above and beyond the usual call of duty.
Of course, as Carolina's most talented perimeter player, it'll be up to Barnes to make his presence felt that much more from here on out.
