I’ve been watching a ton of college hoops lately trying to gauge teams for my brackets that will most likely be busted by the Sweet 16, since I always over think the picks and switch them to the wrong ones. Last night I even went to the Pac-10 tournament to watch the semi finals. It was my first chance to see Arizona’s Derrick Williams in person, and I have to say, I left Staples Center impressed about his abilities as a pro. Williams was the best player on the court out of the two games. He has all the tools you want in a scorer that thrives on attacking the rim. He made a few nice moves but one on the baseline had him finishing on the opposite side of the rim that he took off from was his biggest highlight. I think that move made me a believer that he truly is pro material based off hang time and body control alone!
Barnes is always cooler than the other side of the pillow.
Anyways, over the last two or three weeks one player stands alone in the must watch category, and that player would be Harrison Barnes. He put on a hell of a performance today going for 40 points and hitting 6 3-pointers against Clemson in an overtime win. He seems to have everything you’d want in a player. Great jumper, can handle the ball, passes when he isn’t open, can finish in traffic, hits his free throws, shoots a high FG%, and also plays some solid defense. At the beginning of the season everyone was ripping Barnes for not living up to the hype of his All-American status. What did he do to change those naysayers opinions? He decided to work hard and get better (isn’t that something you always want from a player?). A lot of guys just like the games, but the good ones like practice just as much, and this guy is addicted to getting better. Very good sign for a 19 year old. I know I thought Evan Turner was going to be a stud in the pros after his solid season at Ohio State last year, but there’s something a lot different this time around as in, I’m sure Barnes will make it, because he’s a different breed. His demeanor never changes whether a call is for or against him, whether he’s made four shots in a row or missed four shots in a row. Short term memory is a gift not a skill. He’s as clutch a player as you’ll find in college hoops right now. When I watch him, I feel like he’s a shorter version of Kevin Durant, and has been more clutch in the hitting game tying or game winning shots to boot. Everyone talks about how this is a weak draft class, but the same was said about the 2009 draft that had Griffin, Curry, Evans, Derozan, Jennings, Lawson, Holiday, and Collison which have all seemed to turn out good so far. Since we have the blog, I figured I may as well state right now that I think Barnes going to be great on the next level, and am crossing my fingers to have him on the Warriors. Cmon W’s start tanking the season, so we can get some more ping pong balls!
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
March 12th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
On the Harrison Barnes Bandwagon « Doin Work…
Here at World Spinner we are debating the same thing……
March 12th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
Barnes is a nice choice for a man-crush, but I’m going with Kemba Walker…if for no other reason, Jim Calhoun must be living proof that Walker’s sweat kills tumors.
March 14th, 2011 at 10:35 am
I love Kemba, but at the same time I have a hard time seeing him succeed as a pro. Maybe he’ll be able to succeed like Collison at 6′, but who knows… That being said, I picked UConn to make the final four in one of my brackets because of him though.
March 13th, 2011 at 8:17 am
chappy
Let’s put it this way the Pac 10 finalists as such have been a complete surprise to me !
Washington taking down —- Arizona wasn’t even on my radar as a title game within the conference.
As for Harrison Barnes the kid is good , real good but the question is …… will he be good at the next level where it really counts ?
tophatal ……………..
March 14th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Arizona has been ranked in the top 20 pretty much all year. I’ve been falling for Derrick Williams a lot more than I thought I would after the first couple months of the year. Washington is pretty experienced, and really only lost Quincey Pondexter to the NBA, so it wasn’t too surprising to see them being somewhat stong. UCLA’s fall in the first round of the Pac-10 tourney was a surprise, since Oregon basically sucks. So I wasn’t completely shocked by either team being in the finals since it was the #1 and #3 seed in the tourney.
We’ll have to wait and see about Barnes, but I think you already know that I think he’s going to be a good pro….
March 14th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
chappy
My Dukies ……are rollin’ baby ! We’ve served notice and Nolan Smith is out to service notice that he’s the best player the Blue Devils have had since Grant Hill ……… screw what they say ’bout Christian Laettner ….. were it not Hill they would never have won back to back national titles !
Arizona I think to many flew under the radar as many were expecting one of the more recognized programs to be in the mix in the Pac 10 title game .
Barnes will go pro to be sure but we won’t really know how good he’ll be ’til he’s in a setting that suits his talents .
tophatal ………….
tophatal …………….
March 13th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Since when does having more ping pong balls in the bouncer matter at all in the NBA Draft?
March 14th, 2011 at 10:36 am
Good point, but in what many call a down year, I could see the Warriors ending up with the #1 pick since there’s no clear #1 pick out there…
March 15th, 2011 at 3:28 am
Hey, at least Jared Sullinger, or whoever is the first man picked in the NBA draft this year, will have a job.
Oh wait, the NBA might be headed for a lockout too.
Does that mean I’ll have to watch soccer?
March 15th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Chris Humpherys
Leave soccer alone ……… in some parts of the world it’s viewed as a man’s sport . LOL,LOL,LOL !!!
If the NBA goes the same route as the NFL with a lockout then I’m taking up watching PBA Bowling . God knows things can’t sink any lower at this point with these dumb a_s players’ unions can it ?
tophatal …
March 15th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Nah, you can just be really into college hoops. Then maybe mold your weekends around some golf!
March 15th, 2011 at 9:23 am
chappy
Chris Humpherys
Is it me but is Stern coming late to the party concerning NBA players and their health issues as it relates to concussions ? Look at what’s been recently been happening with the Hornets’ —- Chris Paul ? He gets into a collision with an opposing player and 6 days later he’s suffering from balance issues and repeated headaches. Now Stern is saying that the league has always dealt with and taken this matter seriously . Since when ? They’ve done nothing at all concerning this and that’s in spite of repeated questions from NBPA President Derek Fisher .
Does someone have to be completely incontinent before they(league) actually do something ?
tophatal ………………….
March 17th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Derek Fisher is president of the NBPA? God help that union…
Meehan
March 18th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Hitting the “like” button on this comment!
March 25th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
[…] to see Derrick Williams and Arizona upset #1 seeded Duke last night. I’m glad I got to see Derrick in person before this tourney started, so I could jump on his bandwagon a little earlier than others. […]
January 10th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
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