Harrison Barnes Returns to UNC: 5 Reasons It's the Right Move

As happy and excited as Harrison Barnes looks in that picture, just imagine the look he'll give when his North Carolina Tar Heels perform even better during the 2011-2012 season. 

Now that he's officially returning to Chapel Hill for his sophomore season, the phenomenal forward is going to have a chance to complete the business left unfinished by the Tar Heels after a disappointing loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in March Madness. 

Barnes would have been a sure-fire lottery pick in the 2011 NBA draft, but that wasn't enough to persuade No. 40 from leaving college quite yet. 

While some may hate the decision and ridicule Barnes for leaving money on the table, I think the opposite view is correct in this case.

Here's why. 

It's a Chance to Boost His Stock to No. 1

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CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 18: Harrison Barnes #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after making a three-pointer in the second half while taking on the Long Island Blackbirds during the second round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Time W

If Harrison Barnes had declared for the draft this season, he still would've been a lottery pick, but he would have lost the potential prestige of being a No. 1 pick forever. 

Barnes had absolutely no chance of jumping either Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams on anyone's draft board, so he would've been looking at a third-overall selection at best. 

Now that he's returning to school for one more year, the freshman phenom has a chance to boost his stock back up to the top. When you have that chance, it's tough to pass up.

UNC Has Some Unfinished Business

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CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 05: Harrison Barnes #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates winning the ACC Regular Season Championship as they defeated the Duke Blue Devils 81-67 at the Dean E. Smith Center on March 5, 2011 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

UNC is used to being one of the premier basketball schools in the country. Whenever the bluebloods of the sport are discussed, the Tar Heels have to be in the discussion. 

Part of being a prestigious basketball school is a championship mentality. But when you go to UNC, beating Duke is a top priority as well. 

During the 2010-2011 campaign, UNC failed at both of those tasks. 

The Tar Heels had three opportunities to beat the Blue Devils last year and only capitalized on one of those chances. Unfortunately for them, the ACC Championship Game was one of the failures. By returning, Barnes will have a shot at redemption. 

Secondly, North Carolina did make it into the Elite Eight, but it couldn't fight its way past the Kentucky Wildcats into the Final Four.

Barnes wants a shot at cutting down the nets in the NCAA tournament and now he'll get it. 

The Tar Heels Have to Be the Favorites Now

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NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 27: Harrison Barnes #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels goes for a layup against Doron Lamb #20 of the Kentucky Wildcats during the east regional final of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Prudential Center on March 27, 2011

With the re-addition of Harrison Barnes, the North Carolina Tar Heels have to be in the discussion for the preseason No. 1 spot in the polls. In my opinion, they should now be the favorites to win the 2012 NCAA tournament. 

John Hensen and Tyler Zeller also opted to remain at Chapel Hill instead of testing the waters at the NBA draft, and with Kendall Marshall remaining for his sophomore season, the Tar Heels are going to be absolutely stacked. 

Add in top recruit James McAdoo and the rest of the stellar recruiting class, and this powder blue-clad squad could make a lot of noise throughout the year. 

There Is Room for Improvement

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CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 20: Harrison Barnes #40 talks with head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels while taking on the Washington Huskies during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on Marc

One overlooked part of Harrison Barnes' decision to return is that he's showing maturity by realizing that his game still needs a significant amount of work. 

Fortunately for Barnes, there aren't too many people in the country better suited to help him than North Carolina's own Roy Williams. 

Barnes still needs to work on using his left hand as proficiently as his right hand. Additionally, his long-range and mid-range jump shots do indeed have a little bit of room for improvement. 

If he can get better in those areas while improving his passing skills, Barnes will be one of the most complete players we've seen in years. 

Factor in the expected improvement in other areas in which he's already quite adept and the result is kind of scary for the other members of the ACC.

Barnes Could Rack Up the Individual Accolades

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GREENSBORO, NC - DECEMBER 18: Harrison Barnes #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels against the Texas Longhorns at Greensboro Coliseum on December 18, 2010 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

While basketball is undoubtedly a team sport, don't forget that there are some rather prestigious individual awards. 

Harrison Barnes was touted as a Preseason First Team All-American before he even set foot on a college basketball court last year. That didn't work out quite as well as the media hoped because Barnes got off to a very slow start. 

He recovered at the end of the season and was still named to the Second Team All-ACC, the All-ACC Freshman Team and was selected as the ACC Freshman of the Year. 

Something tells me that Barnes will be a Preseason First Team All-American once more, but this time he'll live up to the hype that goes hand-in-hand with that honor. 

It won't be the only award Barnes receives in 2012.