Barnes in spotlight at UNC|Heels to take on kentucky
Published 10:05 am Saturday, December 4, 2010
By By AARON BEARD, AP Basketball Writer
CHAPEL HILL Harrison Barnes was hailed as an immediate savior when he walked onto the North Carolina with the Tar Heels coming off a disappointing season.
Instead, the freshman who was voted an All-American before playing a game has had a frustrating start to his college career. He has had an 0-for-12 shooting performance, suffered three losses and even heard mocking chants of Overrated! from a hostile crowd.
Barnes ups and downs become more glaring when looking at the quick starts by heralded Kentucky freshmen Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight, who will lead the 10th-ranked Wildcats into Chapel Hill on Saturday.
Hes very bright, North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of Barnes on Friday. He understands that what he has to do is please himself and his coaches and teammates. Hes not pleased with the way hes played, but its not going to be driven by somebody elses opinion of him. … I think he understands it might take a while, and thats the way Im looking at it.
The 6-foot-8 forward was the first freshman named to The Associated Press preseason All-American team since voting began before the 1986-87 season. He has a polished all-around game and gives the Tar Heels (4-3) some needed perimeter punch something they sorely lacked during last years 17-loss season but hes struggling with his shot and is averaging 11 points per game so far.
In the five games since his season-best 19-point outing against Hofstra, Barnes has failed to score in double figures three times and is shooting 14 for 57 (25 percent) and 4 for 17 (24 percent) from three-point range.
He missed all 12 shots in a loss to Minnesota in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, and is coming off a 2 for 9 shooting night in Wednesdays loss at No. 20 Illinois where he was serenaded with the Overrated! chants in the second half.
Afterward, Williams defended Barnes while criticizing ESPN and other media outlets, saying, If youre going to anoint the guy and three weeks later crucify him, thats ridiculous.
Teammates Tyler Zeller and John Henson said theyre telling Barnes not to put too much pressure on himself.
It is business and it is about winning and it is about playing well, but youve got to have fun, said Henson, one of Barnes roommates. You only experience college one time in your life. I think he sometimes takes it a little hard on himself out there. He just needs to enjoy it and just loosen up a little bit out there and I think hell be just fine. I think his best days are yet to come and once he figures it out, its going to be scary for the rest of the country.
The Wildcats (5-1) sound like they expect Barnes to play well Saturday.
I think its unfair what the media has done with him, I think there have been people that have said that, Kentucky assistant coach John Robic said. But hes a talented pro. Hes a definite pro. We have our hands full with him because of his size.
While Barnes finds his way, Kentucky just keeps churning out freshmen stars who adjust quickly to college. John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins went to the NBA after getting within a game of the Final Four in coach John Caliparis first season. But Jones and Knight have filled right in for them.
Jones, a powerful 6-8 forward, is averaging almost 21 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 51 percent to anchor the low post. Knight is second on the team at 17 points from the point, though neither player worried about all the attention heaped on Barnes every move.
We dont really feed into that stuff, we dont really care about that stuff, Knight said. Our main thing is focusing on our team and what we do and try to get wins for our team, not focusing on other players and their accolades and the hype that they came in with. Were focusing on Kentucky, our group.
The Tar Heels had won five straight meetings in the series before the Wildcats took a 68-66 win at Rupp Arena last season. In that game, the Wildcats ran off a 28-2 spurt to take a huge first-half lead, then held off a late surge by the Tar Heels in the final minute.
Like last year, North Carolina could use a win against a marquee name to gain some confidence with a young group thats still working to become a cohesive unit and waiting to see Barnes become comfortable with the college game.
Hes a big boy and hes going to be able to handle this, Williams said. I think he makes strides every week. I think at times if anything he may overanalyze, but thats OK. That means he cares. I dont think we should judge his body of work until his body of work is over.
AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Lexington, Ky., contributed to this report.