I am writing this as the news rolls in that ACC Freshman of the year Harrison Barnes will return for his sophomore season at North Carolina. Before his freshman year started he was considered the consensus No.1 overall pick by every NBA scout in the country. Now after showing signs that he isn’t as ready as many thought and seeing his draft stock fall from the No.1 spot. He is a talented player with the size, athleticism and skills to be a perennial All-Star in the NBA. He still has to work on his ball handling skills and needs to improve his shot selection. Before he announced his decision to return for another year he was still looking like a Top 10 pick in the 2011 draft. Now with his decision to return, the question remains what will happen with his draft stock next year
I think his decision to stay another year is probably one of the best decisions he will ever make in his career. He started the year off slow but towards the end was really starting to look like the player everyone thought he was going to be. By returning to North Carolina he has another year to work on his shot selection, ball handling and get stronger. He also will get the chance to help lead his team to its first National Championship in 3 years. He will be facing tough competition from incoming freshman Austin Rivers, son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Rivers is this year’s Harrison Barnes and will be playing for Coach K at Duke. The rivalry will be bigger than ever this year with the 2 best players in the country going at it for the chance to win the ACC title, player of the year, to win a National Championship and for the spot as No.1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
As for how this will affect the Tar Heels stock going into next season, their stock is on the rise as they get Barnes, junior Tyler Zeller, and sophomore John Henson all committed to winning a championship. They will deservedly enter the season atop the AP Polls, and they are my early selection to win it all next year. Tar Heels fans should be ecstatic right now as they came out on top this offseason
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