AP Honor Applying Added Pressure to Barnes?

It’s not his fault.

I mean, who would reasonably pick Andrew Luck (presumed first pick in next season’s NFL draft) to be a Pro-Bowl starter next season?  The correct answer to this, if you need it, is nobody. 

So then why in the world was Harrison Barnes, the much ballyhooed schoolboy star from Ames, Iowa, selected as an AP All-American without stepping foot on a college floor? 

Whatever the reason, it’s not Barnes’  fault he had the tag of All-American bestowed upon him.  In fact, it is quite an honor, and one he earned through tremendous play.  Barnes became the fist ever freshman to receive such high praise from the AP membership which makes its All-American selections.  Obviously, Barnes showed extraordinary ability to play the game against high school and AAU competition.  Nonetheless, how does a committee of 65 put a player who has never taken a shot at the college level on its top preseason squad?  How many of the 65 do you think actually even saw this kid play a game, or did they come to their conclusion based on several YouTube highlight reels and determined this kid is more worthy of an All-American selection than say, Kemba Walker?

To date, Barnes has had a solid, but unspectacular, start to his college career.  The 6-foot-8, 210 lb forward has averaged 12.3 points and six rebounds through 12 contests.  The most noteworthy stat he has posted, however, is his shooting percentage.  So far, Barnes is connecting from the field at just 37%.  From deep, the freshman is struggling further, knocking down trifectas at a meager 29%.

These percentages can easily be attributed to a player that is pressing.  At the end of the day, Barnes is scoring the ball, reaching double-figures in eight of 12 games.  But having to throw up an average of 12 shots per game to reach that average isn’t exactly efficient.  

As the Tar Heels’ season begins to roll into ACC conference play, the intensity will only be  greater for Barnes.   Will he be able to find his comfort zone in time for a trip to Cameron?  

He better.  He’s a top-five selection in most 2011 NBA mock drafts, too. 

Christian Marge

 

Happy Holidays?

Old Dominion, George Mason, East Carolina, Harvard, Drexel, Miami (OH), and East Tennessee State.

Not exactly a Murderer’s Row in terms of college hoops opponents, but for the A-10 on the first night of December, they proved to be a lineup equivalent to the ’27 Yankees. 

All of those teams handed their A-10 opponents losses on December 1st, leaving the conference in a tailspin heading into the final month of 2010.  The lowest of the lowlights would have to be the 73-68 home loss suffered by Dayton to a 2-2 East Tennessee State team who was winless on the road until their trip to UD Arena.  On a night when Dayton’s arch-rival, Xavier, would usually revel in the Flyers defeat, they too had to leave their contest with heads held low following a 75-64 loss to the RedHawks from Miami (OH).  The other A-10 representatives to suffer stinging losses tonight were Charlotte (@ East Carolina), Fordham (@ Harvard), Saint Joseph’s (@ Drexel), George Washington (@ George Mason), and Richmond (@ Old Dominion).   

The night wasn’t a total loss for the Atlantic 10, as Temple was fortunately able to rally from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Central Michigan, and UMass managed to keep its record perfect by holding on against a stingy Quinnipiac team, 66-64.  Again, though, neither was exactly playing the type of opponents we’ve been seeing in the ACC-Big Ten challenge this week. 

While many of the losses were on the road, the question still needs to be asked:  Are tonight’s results an aberration or are they indicative of where this conference is headed for the 2010-’11 season?  Really, other than Richmond’s victory over Purdue, the conference has zero quality wins, and there are currently no teams ranked in the Top 25. 

While there is still plenty of time for teams to find their rhythm (in my estimation, see Temple), this is obviously not the place where the A-10 wants to be heading into the holiday season.

- Christian Marge