Harrison Barnes: Star SF Will Be Best Value Pick of 2012 NBA Draft
While Anthony Davis is widely regarded as the best prospect in this year's NBA draft class, Harrison Barnes is going to end up being the best value pick.
There are very few players are capable of stepping on an NBA court right away and making an impact on both sides of the ball. Barnes has that kind of ability; he just needs to shore up a couple of small holes in his game.
Barnes was supposed to be one of the best college players in recent memory considering the hype attached to him out of high school. While he did not live up to that billing—few players in any sport can match that—Barnes was not the bust that some might have you believe him to be.
In fact, there are a lot of encouraging things to take from Barnes' two years at North Carolina. He struggled in his freshman year, shooting just 42 percent from the field, but you learn more about an athlete when they don't succeed than when they're dominating everyone.
Early on, Barnes could have let his problems get the best of him. Instead, he put in the time and work to improve in his sophomore season, and the results showed in his performance.
Not only did his shooting percentage increase to a more respectable 44 percent, but he was using his long. athletic frame to impact the game on defense. That is definitely not the best part of his game, so he has to keep working to get better.
According to Ed Isaacson of NBA Draft Blog, Barnes has a natural ability to do things with the ball in his hand that make him an easy lottery pick.
"While he definitely could improve in some areas, Barnes is the real deal as a player and his style, especially on offense, will allow him to flourish. He can create his own shot, can get to the basket fairly easily and he has excellent instincts on the offensive end.
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Players with Barnes' upside aren't supposed to last beyond the first four of five picks. He is likely going to end up dropping because he didn't play up to his potential in college. Give him time and he's going to be a great shooter with speed and quickness to take the ball to the basket.
