Harrison Barnes: North Carolina Star Overrated Leading Up to NBA Draft
Harrison Barnes may have the potential to be a good scorer in the NBA, but he disappoints in other areas.
That is why selecting him in the top 10 of the 2012 NBA draft may not be such a good idea.
At the combine, Barnes impressed, showing off the athleticism and explosiveness teams drool over when looking at prospects. Then again, his athleticism, explosiveness and scoring ability never were big concerns for me when looking at Barnes. The rest of the package, on the other hand, makes it hard for me to pick him in the top 10 if I'm an NBA GM.
Barnes doesn't rebound very well, he's not a very good ball handler, he can be passive on the floor, and he has trouble creating his own shot (as demonstrated when North Carolina teammate and point guard Kendall Marshall missed part of the NCAA tournament this year with a fractured right wrist).
The reality is, there are plenty of scorers in the NBA, but, unless you're a truly elite scorer, you don't become a star unless you do other things well.
In my opinion, Barnes is being boosted in the draft because, beyond Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, there aren't many small forward prospects in the draft who figure to be stars. I like Moe Harkless of St. John's and Jeffrey Taylor of Vanderbilt, but will they be stars? I don't think so. I think they'll be very good players, though. Baylor's Quincy Miller is too raw and inconsistent and coming off an ACL injury and Iowa State's Royce White has off-court issues aplenty.
In that sense, it's easy to reach for a position of need if you're an NBA team. The possibility of Barnes being a good scorer seems to be enough at this point.
But it shouldn't be enough. If you're a top 10 pick, you need to bring other things to the table than scoring ability. And will Barnes become an elite scorer in the NBA? I'm not so sure.
Barnes has been hyped throughout his basketball career, but the hype appears to be overshadowing what's really there leading up to the 2012 NBA draft.
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