North Carolina Basketball: Why Harrison Barnes's Best Is Yet to Come

We all know about Harrison Barnes's high school ranking, about his early-season struggles last year that were scrutinized to almost annoying proportions, and the way he took it all in stride, kept his head up, and then blew the door off his production in the latter part of the season.

So there's no need to bore you with Cliff Notes of who Harrison Barnes was last year.

I want to focus on who Harrison Barnes is this year because I don't think many people realize just how far he's come since last season—but they will.

I'll be the first to say that I'm the biggest Barnes fan out there.  I've followed him from the early days of his recruitment; I sent out a mass text to about 80 people, some of whom I hadn't talked to in months or years, immediately after he committed to North Carolina (if for no other reason than just to brag, whether they even knew who Harrison Barnes was was no concern of mine); I had his back when everyone else seemed to turn theirs against him and I couldn't have been happier for him in every one of his moments of triumph last season.

Does that make me biased?  Not really—I'm just a big fan.  However, it does make me very knowledgeable about the subject that is Harrison Barnes.

This offseason, Barnes had a number of areas he wanted to work on—mainly his shot efficiency and ball handling.  And if you had a chance to watch the seven-minute scrimmage of UNC's that was featured on ESPNU for Midnight Madness, you caught a glimpse of his practice paying off.

I mean, did you see some of the shots he hit?  Three of which I said to myself, "Barnes, what are you thinking, dude?"  Only to be silenced by the sound of the ball sinking through the net and my jaw dropping to the floor.

"Wow," I thought. "This guy is unreal."

I also noticed the weight he's put on—good weight.  The kind of weight that will make him a whole lot harder to guard and make him even more of a nuisance to those he's guarding.

"He worked exceptionally hard in the offseason," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said of Barnes. "He's a very focused individual. We've talked about being more efficient on the offensive end, getting to the free-throw line, being a better defender - and being 15 pounds stronger will help all of that."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not basing this entire article on a seven-minute pick-up game against his own teammates.  But it did help make something very clear: Barnes wants it.  And he's willing to put in the work for it.

Barnes wants to win; he wants to be the best player on the court night in and night out.  Barnes wants to be "that guy," and, most of all, Barnes wants to leave his mark in Chapel Hill—an indelible one.

I watched highlights of Barnes at Chris Paul's Elite Guard Summer Camp, and his improved dribbling, not to mention his other arsenal of moves, as well as his shot off the dribble, was simply poetry in motion.

I've read where coaches have raved about how Barnes has seemingly turned all of last year's weaknesses into new-found strengths—and that's just a scary thought, if you're not a Carolina fan.

Barnes is the first guy in the gym and the last one out.  He puts countless hours into everything, not just the big things.  He focuses every day on not just how to make himself better, but the players around him, too.  He takes his coaches' advice on what he needs to improve upon, and just improves.  He's driven, hungry and clutch.

Sound like the ingredients of an NBA superstar?

I read a part of an article that quoted an ACC coach (who wasn't named) saying that he thinks Barnes will make a better college player than a pro.  Which could end up being true, but where exactly is he deriving that notion from?

Maybe it's because we've seen so many great college players seemingly become "flops" or "disappointments" in the NBA.

They have the talent, size and intangibles to make a big-time impact, but they don't.  Why?  Sometimes it's because they entered the league too early, or because they don't have the desire to get better every. Single. Day.  After all, they've "made it," right?  

Others start "playing" for their love of the paychecks, not the game.  They care more about their image than they do their team's success, playing for the name on the back of the jersey instead of the one on the front.  They develop (even more) arrogant attitudes and lose sight of what got them to where they are in the first place.

Those are recipes for disaster, and unfortunately, they're played out far too often.

Harrison Barnes is the exact opposite of all of those things, though, and that's why I don't worry too much about what kind of career he'll have at the next level.  

Barnes needed to improve on some vital things from last year while critiquing a few others, and by all indications, he has.  And next year, when he enters the draft, he'll be told he has other areas that he needs to get better at, and he will.  He'll face those kinds of challenges throughout his career, and he'll meet them head on every single time.

When I look at the mentality of Harrison Barnes, I can't help but be reminded of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.  Now, I'm not saying Barnes will be the "next" either of those two, but he does have a vastly similar approach to the game.  

He's a ferocious competitor, a proven winner and a player who is relied on in crunch time—and more importantly, one who delivers in crunch time.  He wants to get better, and he has the ability to get better.  

That's what makes him special.  That's what will keep him out of the "disappointment" category down the road.  That's why yours truly would rather have a guy like Kevin Durant on his team than LeBron James.

I want a guy I can trust in the final seconds to put my team in the best position to win—and Barnes does that.

Because as MJ once put it so elegantly in a Gatorade commercial:  "It's not how hard you pushed along the way. It's having something in you to finish."

Barnes' legacy, on this level and the next, is his to make, and where he is able to take it will be exciting—and gratifying—to watch.