Well spoken, thoughtful, smart and quite an impressive public speaker. Regardless of anything else Harrison Barnes might do as a Tar Heel, we can say for certain right now he will represent the university and be a leader on the team. And kudos for using Skype to put the “winning” coach on the screen. All those shows Tar Heel Wife watches on HGTV say it is all about the reveal and Barnes did it in a dramatic fashion.
For more on Barnes decision, check out Jim Young’s piece at ACC Sports Journal which includes this gem of a quote from Scout.com’s Dave Telep:
Instead, landing Barnes just bumped Roy Williams’ reputation as a recruiter up to mythical status.
“This only furthers the legend,” Telep said. “He is awesome when it comes to the acquisition of talent.”
As happy as UNC fans are right now, I do want to sound a word of caution. Yes, UNC basketball program won today and yes, UNC beat Duke at something which is always fun even if it is crossing the street. Getting a #1 ranked recruit to commit to UNC and shun Duke in the process is a true rivalry moment and something to celebrate. That being said, this is but one step in the large ongoing battle. Harrison Barnes, for all his potential has yet to play a minute of basketball for UNC and what we are operating on right now is the potential we believe this young man has as a basketball player. Now, recruiting rankings are generally spot on, especially when talking about the #1 ranked player in any class. The one exception that comes to mind is Josh McRoberts in 2005 who flopped mightily at Duke after being touted like Barnes is now. That is not saying Barnes is another McRoberts but it is a cautionary tale about what could happen.
UNC fans have plenty to celebrate today and while this commitment wides the gap between UNC and Duke, it is not like the Blue Devils are bringing in a bunch of invalids next season. Duke has an elite PG committed in Kyrie Irving and plenty of solid players to boot. Granted Barnes would have given the Devils another elite NBA-type talent which would have vaulted them into Final Four contention. Even without Barnes, Duke is still dangerous and still right behind UNC to some extent. Any team with an elite PG can do all sorts of damage. Along with Irving, Duke will have Seth Curry, Nolan Smith, Andre Dawkins and the Plumlees. That team will be balanced and talented enough to give the Heels some trouble. So like any time UNC wins, celebrate this one tonight knowing there is still plenty of basketball to be played.
And since we are still in celebration mode, a friend suggested this would be an appropriate image to characterize the day.
![[Bloglines]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
pic never gets old. never. Hope this positive announcement kicks off an awesome sports weekend in Chapel Hill.
THF-
Yeah, yeah,yeah…don’t count your eggs before they hatch…we get it.
However, let’s focus on the blessings bestowed upon us. Just as the Tyler Hansbrough era ends, we are fortunate enough to have secured the commitment of one of, if not THE, most well-composed and articulate basketball talents in recent memory.
We all know how the McBob scenerio unfolded at Dook. However, just because he wasn’t a dominant player doesn’t mean that his #1 ranking (at the high school level) should provide any grounds for comparison with Harrison Barnes. In short, it is downright shameful how misused McBob was at Dook. I don’t know what Kay was thinking, but he basically had McBob playing as a wing-type player, which is absurd even for a player with his skill set. He just looked lost and frustrated in the Dook system.
As for Paulus, consider him to be a fluke in the ranking process. I don’t know how so many could have been so wrong about one player (coming out of high school), but Paulus was certainly one of the most overrated prospects that I can recall.
The Harrison Barnes signing is a watershed moment. Only in passing years will we fully comprehend the magnitude of today’s transgressions. Three five-star recruits signed their letters-of-intent today. Roy Williams came in late on the top recruit in the 2010 class and got a commitment. To have a player like Barnes coming in, post-Hansbrough is nothing short of a blessing.
Don’t assume that this young man is one-and-done. I think he’ll stay around until he has truly accomplished something at UNC…most likely, a national championship.
What a great time to be a Tar Heel fan…
Just remember that since Deng that the Duke recruits have been universally overrated. McRoberts, Paulus, Henderson and the several transfers were all grossly overrated. Is that no going to suddenly stop?
“…Coach Roy Williams.” The quote of the decade.
It’s a fairly poorly kept secret that Duke (and UNC) recruits get a bump in the eyes of the recruiting circuits, especially when it comes to McD selections. I don’t think anyone will argue that guys like Curry, Capel, Frasor, and Q were probably overrated coming into college.
Remember two years ago when Delvin Roe chose MSU over UNC and there was a lot of wrangling as to whether Roy had lost his edge? The Roe announcement came on the heels of UNC missing out on Kevin Love (06), Samardo Samuels, Jrue Holiday, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Iman Shumpert and was a touch worrisome.
Now Roy is walking on recruiting water. Things can change very quickly and while there is no appearance that the pendulum will swing back soon, you never know.
Enjoy this now!!
Once again, all is as it should be.
Interesting numbers since Roy came back to UNC from Dane Huffmans’s blog:
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blogpost/6416688/
UNC
Two national titles
Three Final Fours
Two ACC titles
21-4 in NCAA play
176-37 record
72-24 ACC record
Duke
No national titles
One Final Four
Three ACC titles
11-6 in NCAA play
179-36 record
73-23 ACC record
What is interesting is that Duke has actually been slightly better than UNC in the regular season, but there is no contest in the post-season. I think a lot if this is directly attributable to Duke’s lack of depth, which is certainly a by product of the recruiting issues they been having. They have enough talent to win a lot of regular season games, but they just get worn down come March.
It should also be pointed out that if you take out Roy’s first year, things look markedly different:
UNC
Two national titles
Three Final Fours
Two ACC titles
20-3 in NCAA play
155-24 record
64-16 ACC record
Duke
No national titles
No Final Fours
Two ACC titles
7-5 in NCAA play
148-30 record
60-20 ACC record
The discrepancy in the records in NCAA play is stunning.
Dean said Roy was a tireless recruiter, but beyond that he was an incredible judge of talent. When asked a number of years ago why he wasn’t recruiting Paulus, Roy replied, “we thought he was a better quarterback.” Roy is steadfastly reaching a level in his profession thought unattainable.
Seth Davis has no said one thing about Barnes’ decision. He has Tweeted a couple of other items but has completely blown off what constituted the biggest college basketball news of the day up until they actually played games last night.
What a disgruntled piece of dookie.
Welcome to Chapel Hill, Mr. Barnes, Mr. Marshall and Mr. Bullock!
He seemed very interested in talking about Barnes until he became a Tar Heel. Apparently he got amnesia withing the last 20 hours.
Here’s hoping that Mr Barnes is as good at HOOPS as he is at HOOPLA!
A real showman!
I guess egoists make pretty good b’ball players. I just hope he will put in the time it takes to become a team player.
Go Heels
wpe022,
I agree. If you look back at Roy’s recruiting record you will be hard pressed to find find a complete bust. Frasor MAY not have been a McD caliber recruit, but he had a nice career and was a key part of a NC team. Additionally, if it weren’t for injuries, he may have had a better career than Paulus, who was rated much higher. More importantly, I can’t think of a major recruit who hasn’t been at least, “as advertised.” Jacque Vaughn, Raef Lafrentz, Paul Pierce, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Wayne Simien, Marvin Williams, Tyler, Lawson, Brandan Wright, and Ellington, were all great, and aside from Williams and Wright, every all had All-American type careers, and Wright and Williams were so good that they left after one year.
As important as recruiting great classes is, in this day and age, hitting homeruns with the superstars is probably more important, and no one does this better than Roy.
“Seth Davis has not said one thing about Barnes’ decision.”
If I was an SI editor I would be pretty annoyed. Every single single major CBK writer (Goodman, Parrish, Vitale, Katz, O’Neil, and Forde) has commented (sometimes multiple times) on his signing, and NEITHER of the SI CBK writers (Davis and Winn) have said a thing. The only one who did was Grant Wahl, who primarily covers soccer.
It’s one thing to be biased, honestly, that is good for business, but to completely ignore something like this is really unprofessional.
Apparently Ty Lawson is channeling his inner DFG:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWkhvdCjUSs&feature=player_embedded
Two words: OH. MY.
^The Timberwolves traded the wrong point guard. But I’m actually glad. Lawson and the Nuggets are a perfect fit. Now, if we can just get Ellington out of Minnesota…
I agree. Flynn hasn’t been bad, and he will be a solid PG in the NBA, but Lawson has “star” written all over him. Jennings, Lawson, Flynn, and Evans has a chance to be a really special class of PGs. It’s a good thing Rubio went back to Spain, because he doesn’t have the chops to hang with those 4.
What I want to know is how Jrue freaking Holiday got drafted before Ty Lawson. There are NBA GMs that will get fired for not picking up this guy.
Oh God, I miss Ty so much. He’s such a great player and will have a long sucessful NBA career. He is one of the players that makes me proud to be a Tar Heel.
Ty is an animal.
If any of you THF readers want some pure entertainment you should head over to Duke Basketball Report. They are absolutely livid over the Barnes decision.
Some thoughts from the Dookies on the Barnes decision..
“Well, I guess all that stuff about Barnes having class is out the window… If Barnes “really” based his decision on academics he wouldn’t be going to Carolina, which is not even in the Top 25 in academics in the country…(I thought that one was one of the more outrageous comments..Ha Ha Ha…) All Barnes was going to be to our class was “gravy” anyway. We still have a better class than Carolina does and we will still beat the Tar Holes TWICE next year, we’re still the odds on favorites, especially if Kyle Singler stays…”
As you can see plenty of entertainment over at DBR…Ha Ha Ha…
THF, if and when you ever decide to retire this blog, your picture of DFG labeled as “Roy” is at the top of the “Hall of Fame” posts…..
Great week to be a Tar Heel. The Heels are a Final Four caliber team this year and assuming Barnes is 1/2 as good as advertised, the Heels are in the mix next year as well.
^^^ C Michael, thanks for the Ty Lawson link.
THF, I got an email from a friend who lives in Chapel Hill and whose wife works at Dook. She heard from people who were there that Coach Kay went ballistic, slamming a door (knocking a picture off a wall) and fuming down, I guess, to his inner sanctum. According to my friend, Chrissy Collins followed him, shouting out loud about how Barnes could betray them like this, interspersed by other choice words not suitable for this site.
The whole scene was set up with the team and cheerleaders in the room where the Skype call was expected to come. It was going to be a big party …
Apparently, when Barnes had the technical difficulty getting on Skype, Kay shouted at people about getting the stuff working. Then Barnes made the connection and spoke the three now-famous words, “Coach Roy Williams…”
I wonder if all that is on tape somewhere. It’d be a big hit on YouTube.
LarryP, if what you say is true, then you made my weekend even “sweeter”…Ha Ha Ha….
I, too, hope there is some video of it somewhere, it would be an instant classic…Ha Ha Ha…
DBR is comical. Think this blog without intellectual honesty. Right now Scout has NCSU ahead of Duke since the Pack have a pair of five stars coming in next season. Duke only has one. You be the judge based on the rankings:
UNC:
#1 Barnes(#1 SF)
#11 Bullock(#2 SG)
#21 Marshall(#5 PG)
Duke:
#5 Irving(#2 PG)
#41 Hairston(#10 PF)
#94 Thornton(#20 PG)
Yeah, Duke’s class is better(rolls eyes)Duke is actively recruiting one other player in the Scout Top 100 and that is Roscoe Smith who is 32nd overall and #6 at SF. Duke backed off Smith because Barnes did not want to play with him. Now that Barnes is off the table, they will make a run at him. It will be interesting to see if he wants anything to do with Duke given he is their 2nd choice.
Duke’s class is decent. Irving is a legit PG and gives them something at the one they have been missing for a long time. The Plumlees, Dawkins and Kelly means they have quality personnel but when compared to UNC is still is not enough. Duke has no depth in their talent whereas UNC is extremely deep. Also remember that in 2011 UNC already has the #2 player in the class James McAdoo(#1 PG) and #19 PJ Hairston(#5 SG) committed. The pipeline is chock full of talent. Remember the 2005 class alone did not win the 2009 title. It was the combination of the 05 and 06 classes that formed the core of a title team. The same sort of table is being set again with 2009, 2010 and 2011. UNC will be a contender in 2010 and probably again in 2011 if all these recruits pan out. Duke’s situation does not look nearly that good and anyone who says otherwise is selling something.
I will say this..I am not sure the way Barnes did it was fair to everyone involved. If teams setup for a big party then got disappointed that was a tad wrong.
Being an IT guy I was not surprised Barnes had issues with the connection. I imagine with all the live streaming going on the respective local networks were probably saturated.
Glad to sweeten your weekend, CH85
Yeah THF, I agree with you, DBR is definitely selling something and it is HILARIOUS…Ha Ha Ha…
Not only are they still trying to say Dook will be better than Carolina next year, they’re saying there class is better when you factor in that Little Curry by way of Liberty U plays next year…
Their “spin” is also comical… They’re saying there “real” target all along was Kyrie Irving because there main need was a point guard and that Barnes was “gravy” because of Seth Curry. If Seth Curry is better than Harrison Barnes, then Harrison Barnes was way OVERRATED, by EVERYBODY who knows anything about basketball. In other words, I don’t think so…
I forgot about Curry. It will be interesting to see if he transitions to the ACC and is all that. He did tear it up at Liberty and dropped a ton of points on a couple of ACC teams. Still, doing it night in and night out in the ACC is different. He did get a year to it the weight room and practice with the team so that gives them something. Duke still has a question on the interior. The Plumlees are an upgrade over Thomas/Zoubek but how much is the question.
And spare me the “Barnes was gravy” talk. K had been on Barnes for a very long time. It was thought to be in the bag because Barnes was the supposedly the prototypical Duke player because of his academics. The Shane Battier comparisons were frequent so for them to act like now this is not a big deal is just flat wrong.
I will say Irving was probably a more important piece to the puzzle because the PG is more important in the college game. However, they wanted Barnes, invested heavily in him and got run by Roy even with the late start. That is the bigger story, the fact K got outflanked despite a six month head start.
i would love to believe Larry’s story is true.
“I am not sure the way Barnes did it was fair to everyone involved. If teams setup for a big party then got disappointed that was a tad wrong.”
I’m not sure that I agree here. If all he told the 6 coaches was that he was going to Skype the school of his choice at 4:15, then he did nothing wrong. If a coach wanted to make a big production out of it, know full well that he was not in control of the outcome of the day, then that’s his own damn fault. All we heard during this recruitment was what a great poker face HB had, and how their was no indication of his leanings. I don’t see how any coach can say he was led on. K’s hubris bit him in the ass, plain and simple.
As for top recruiting classes, don’t sleep on Memphis’ class of:
#8 Will Barton (#1 SG)
#15 Jelan Kendrick (#2 SF)
#17 Joe Jackson (#4 PG)
Memphis and UNC are the only two schools to have 3 5-star recruits. Glad to see Josh Pastner is keeping it going. I have to admit, tend to root for teams that Calipari abandons…
“Does anyone else’s back hurt”
I will be the first to say something negative about the way he handled the skype call. If the story from LarryP is correct while very very very funny, I think that Mr. Barnes should have called the other coaches ahead of the skype call and let them know he wasn’t coming. So as not to make an a** out of the coach and students awaiting to get the call.
While I love that coach K was anticipating the call, imagine the shoe on the other foot. Roy stopping practice getting everyone around a t.v. and not getting the call.
Just seems that if the other 4 schools involved in the hunt for Mr. Barnes were all waiting around the computer…well, you get my point.
The problem with that was if he makes those calls then it leaks. He wanted it to be a singular moment in which he reveals the choice kept secret for months. Roy said he did not know whether the other coaches were setup for the same deal or not. Barnes should have told them all that he wanted all of them setup to await the call but he would choose just one.
“don’t sleep on Memphis’ class”
True, but I will sleep on the coach. Same is true of Ohio St. Thad Matta has been pulling in highly ranked classes for years but outside the Oden class nothing ever materializes.
“Just seems that if the other 4 schools involved in the hunt for Mr. Barnes were all waiting around the computer.”
But again, who’s fault is that? You didn’t see a bunch of cheerleaders and PR people around Roy, did you? It was the team, and it wasn’t even all of them. Quite frankly, you’ll have a hard time convincing me that the real reason the team was there was anything other than to help Roy use Skype.
It’s not like Barnes called each school and said no before ending at UNC, which, IMO, would have been unfair, and it’s not like ESPNU had cameras at each of the schools.
To me, this is no different than what happens in March when schools on the bubble gather in large throngs to see if they will be selected to the NCAA tourney. The coaches and schools are gambling on a chance to gain a little more positive publicity at the risk that their heartbreak will be aired publicly.
Re: Matta
Agreed. It’s one thing to get them, it’s another thing to keep them. Roy does both as well as anyone.
I think the mistake was in each coach not knowing the other coaches were on. Roy said he thought it was going to be them because they asked for the Skype feed. So if Barnes had indicated all the coaches would be waiting then maybe discretion on the part of the coaches would have be brought to bear.
glad you brought up Matta. how exactly is he getting these recruits, anyway?
doesnt it seem like the ho-hum nature of the basketball program lately wouldnt attract these top players? it doesnt match up for me and makes me curious.
HTTE,
To Matta’s credit, he is dominating the state of Ohio, much like Dean used to own NC. Here is the list of 4 and 5-star players from OH that he has gotten since 2006:
Daequan Cook (5)
David Lighty (4)
Kosta Koufos (5)
Jon Diebler (4)
Dallas Lauderdale (4)
BJ Mullens (5)
William Buford (5)
Jared Sullinger (5)
Jordan Sibert (4)
Aaron Craft (4)
The state of Ohio has has historically turned out great basketball talent and Matta has taken his cues from the football team and made locking up the in-state talent a priority. In someways, the devotion that Ohioans have to the football team probably helps him in keeping these players.
“But again, who’s fault is that? You didn’t see a bunch of cheerleaders and PR people around Roy”- Good point C.
I guess I was looking at through the I don’t want that happening to our Tar Heels.
Okay, for my two cents on a few issues:
1. THF, the folks over at DBR are deflated…some folks here have cut-and-pasted posts that indicate Dook fans were more sold on getting Irving than Barnes. That is simply innacurate. Without paying IC premium fees, DBR had been the only place where I could even get the slightest tidbits on Barnes (for the longest time…which stunk, because the facts were supplimented with Dookie Dribble). Having sifted through those posts and threads for nearly four months now (I LOVES my UNC basketball…it’s 365 days a year), I can tell you all that their fanbase is crushed. They are collectively doing what any fanbase would do, and that is rally around a theme to move forward. That them is to place all the chips on the next-best-thing, which is Irving. To be perfectly honest, they can have that kid. He wasn’t recruited by many schools, and his profile sky-rocketed when the big boys came calling. Do you think he just magically jumped from being Scout #12 PG to #5 by playing THAT much better than the other guards? Please, homes.
Not getting Harrison Barnes is such a defining moment for both Dook and UNC. I’m not going to over-sell this one, and I think it is fair to say that, up to this point, it is comperable to the recruitment of Grant Hill. Dean was invited to the Hills household for dinner, and to make a recruiting pitch. After dinner, Grant Hill excused himself to work on homework, while the Hills met with Dean in the living room. After a short discussion of academics, the Hills informed Dean that Grant was going to Dook. Dean’s answer was awesome”
“Had I known this, I could have had dinner with MY family.”
Which leads me to point #2.
2. Harrison Barnes did not notify all the schools of his decisiion. THF, you beat me to the punch. Had he notified any one coach, it would have been all over the internet…like THAT. I give him more credit for not revealing the information. The fact that Mike Krzyzewski had that big production in play is ON HIM. He’s a 65-year old man and he can handle himself, so let’s not throw our two tears in the bucket for him. As for the other coaches, they knew that UNC and Dook were the leaders, so they should be happy to have the exposure.
3. As far as the recruiting classes go, the Heels roster is loaded, pure and simple. Roy is thinking through the early departures and he is getting four and five-star recruits to re-fill the gaps.
Once and for all, we’re past Dook now. Our rivals are on the national stage, with Kentucky and Kansas. Giving the Dookies this much site space is habitual, I know…but it keeps them relevant. They simply are not as relevant these days. If their collective fan base are more excited about another year of Kyle Singler (which won’t happen) or 1-2 of Kyrie Irving over 1-2 of Harrison Barnes, then they are saying so out of a desperate need to shield the fact that Dook is a DISTANT second now.
They lost their most-prized recruit of the last ten years, and they lost him to UNC. They lost him after “recruiting him out of the womb” and with nearly every reputable scout/recruiting site saying he would end up in Durham. They lost him after Roy Williams put a sudden, hard-but-effective sell on the kid. Harrison Barnes liked what he heard. This is a defining moment. People like to say that recruits don’t pay to much attention to how certain issues effect other recruits decisions. Mark my words, this situation will be on the minds of a LOT of recruits for the next several years.
That’s all I’m saying. GO HEELS!!!
It just hit me this morning:
What role did the Titanic video play in Barnes’ decision???
I remember the debate between Bomani Jones and Adam Gold about how the video would portray life on the team at Duke. I think they may have kept the wrong host at 620AM. At the very least, AG owes BJ an apology.
That story about K and Skype is not 100% accurate.
This is what I know: Barnes notified only one school (UNC) ahead of time about the Skype thing; however, he was careful not to tell UNC that they were the only school being told to standby for the Skype call.
The moment Barnes mentioned Skype in the presser, the other finalists knew they were out b/c Barnes hadn’t said anything to them about Skype. Still, UNC had no idea until they heard Barnes say “Coach Roy Williams”
One other thing: The Skype connectivity issues were on our end. Coach Rob accidentally closed out the Skype window when Barnes first called.