Harrison Barnes
Photo by Kelly Kline
Throughout the month of March and into early April, MaxPreps.com will highlight 10 high school seniors sure to make a splash in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
No. 1 Harrison Barnes
6-8 / 210 / Wing
Ames (Ames, Iowa)
Headed to: North Carolina
2009-10 season: Barnes heads to Chapel Hill as the most decorated high school basketball player in Iowa history. In leading Ames to its second-straight Class 4A title, Barnes tallied 26.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists per game. He swept state player of the year honors for the second year in a row and was named MaxPreps.com’s National Player of the Year.
Next-level analysis: North Carolina’s sub-par season has Tar Heel fans hoping for big things from Barnes. He has all the tools to deliver.
Roy Williams returns a squadron of promising players and the Iowa star’s versatility will allow him to slide into the lineup where needed. Although he could play the “4” in a pinch, Barnes will log the vast majority of his minutes in the UNC backcourt alongside Larry Drew II and Dexter Strickland. Add in fellow incoming freshman wing Reggie Bullock and returning bigs Ed Davis, Will Graves, John Henson and Tyler Zeller and the Tar Heels should have an ACC contender once again.
Barnes will take over the No. 1 spot in MaxPreps’ final 2010 Top 100 next week when it is released. His combination of prototype size and tremendous production – not to mention the “it factor” – make him the most likely candidate for basketball stardom of this year’s seniors.
No. 10 Cory Joseph
No. 9 Perry Jones
No. 8 Tristan Thompson
No. 7 Will Barton
No. 6 Tobias Harris
No. 5 Kyrie Irving
No. 4 Joe Jackson
No. 3 Brandon Knight
No. 2 Jared Sullinger
