Meet the amazing prep prospect! (Grrr...)
Posted: Friday, June 19, 2009 1:58 AM
Filed Under:
Recruiting
One of 2010’s prize recruits sounds too good to be true.
Harrison Barnes is a 6-foot-7 wing, blessed with a massive wingspan, a solid perimeter shot and excellent ball-handling skills. He’s also a dedicated baller, committed to the gym.
The nation’s No. 2 overall recruit (according to Rivals.com) even logged an impressive few days at the Pangos All-American camp recently.
Yes, that’s fairly routine for a star prospect. The spectacular stuff comes next.
From the Raleigh News & Observer:
Barnes has a rare set of priorities to match his outstanding athletic ability. He is a talented musician who plays cello and saxophone and participated in the marching band until the end of his sophomore year.
He is a member of a group called DECA that provides training in marketing and management at his high school. During his senior year, he will sing in the school choir, and he might try to win a state championship in the high jump in the spring after he attempts to help Ames [Iowa] defend its basketball state title.
On Wednesday mornings, he participates in a Bible study group he helped form at school.
No word on when Barnes rescues people from burning buildings or finds time to balanced the budget. (Though he did make time to pick up golf this summer. He figures it’s a good idea for future dealings in the business world.)
The musical talent and smooth game prompted one recruiter to liken Barnes to Grant Hill. Not too shabby. The admiration for Barnes just pours out of people. From an AP feature:
"He's a very thoughtful, articulate young man and education is a priority,” said his high school coach Vance Downs. “We all say it, but how many kids live that way? He lives that way. Education is a high priority, his faith is very important to him and basketball is very important to him. But I think he has all his priorities set the way they should be.”
Nice stuff. The irritating part comes next when the AP story makes this transition:
So how did the nation's top prep player end up in Ames, a relatively obscure Midwestern college town?
Really? We had to go there? It’s surprising that an elite prep prospect lives in Iowa? Not on the coasts or in the city? Sigh.
Maybe it’s irritating because it’s almost 2 a.m. and I’ve dithered around at work for too long when a week’s vacation is looming. Or maybe it’s because that’s the kind of question that drives Midwesterners crazy (or everyone living in-between the coasts, for that matter).
Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to rant. (Never gonna get to sleep now…)
