Harrison Barnes has elite offensive scoring ability, but will he bring it on a consistent basis nightly in the NBA.
7. Harrison Barnes 6-8 227lbs UNC Sophomore SF/SG
2011-12 stats: 29.2 mpg, 17.1 ppg, 5.2 ppg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 spg, 44% fg, 36% 3ptfg, 72% ft
Prediction: Top 10
Strengths: Harrison Barnes has one of the more polished offensive games in the 2012 NBA Draft, if not the best. Barnes was the number one high school prospect in the country in 2010, hailing out of Ames, IA and came into college with very high expectations, one that were too high if you ask me. But in his two years in Chapel Hill, Barnes overcame the hype, criticism, pressure, and left a better player then when he came. Harrison Barnes has perfect NBA size, length and strength for a small forward and the scoring capabilities to go along with it. A pure shooter from mid range and from distance, Barnes can fill it up once he gets going. Barnes decided to take smaller defenders to the mid post this season as well and increased his free throw attempts from 3.4 the prior year, to 5.1 per game this past season. The scouts who questioned Barnes’ athleticism where shut up when he posted a 38.5 standing vertical leap, the highest at the combine. He worked out for the Bobcats recently, who holds the number two pick and there is a good chance he goes there, if not to Charlotte he won’t make it out of the top ten for sure.
Weaknesses: There are stretches in big games where Barnes seems uninterested and not fully involved. He clearly had superior talent then most of the players in the nation and probably could of scored more points and dominated games nightly, but he often deferred to his teammates, or bailed out defenders who couldn’t check him by shooting jump shots too often. He is a scorer, but at the college level he didn’t display the ability to get others open shots or rebound at a high level. He has the physical ability to defend at an elite level, but didn’t defend that way in college on a consistent basis.
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