Top 100 NBA Camp: Harrison Barnes info

[The Truth]

Here's some info culled from Dustin Rumbaugh, the LCJ's Jody Demling and ZagBlog's coverage of the camp:

-Harrison's teammate for the camp? Minnesota target Corey Joesph..who is still mentioning UofL a lot but Jody Demling thinks that the winds have shifted and UofL has fallen back

-Harrison Barnes is avg. 11 points a game thus far and among the leaders in the scoring department

-In a star-studded affair, Michael Gilchrist of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick (pictured courtesy Courier-Journal) battled Barnes in the first game. Barnes outscored Gilchrist 16-14, but many reporters felt Gilchrist out played Barnes. Gilchrist suffered a slight sprained ankle and missed the All-Star game.

-Barnes made the All-Star team and has officially eliminated USC from his list.

 

[The Truth]

Here's Dustin Rumbaugh's thoughts (which I've edited a bit to take out any references to Kentucky. You can find the full comments and some great all around coverage of a lot of the prospects that Big 10 schools are hard after at Kentuckysportsradio.com and Jody Demlings blog at the Louisville Courier Journal site) on the matchup between Harrison Barnes and Micheal Gilchrist and some insight into Barnes recruiting process:

- Michael Gilchrist (pictured above) and Harrison Barnes faced off early on. Gilchrist’s game was cut short by a mild leg injury, but he really put on a show before he left. He played great defense on Barnes, keeping him from getting into the lane despite Barnes’ quick first step. On almost every fast break, Gilchrist was either leading the charge and finishing at the rim or somewhere in the mix making the nice pass. I left that game with the opinion that he absolutely stole the show. For a kid going into his junior season to have that much talent is an absolute travesty for the rest of the high school competition that he’ll face in the upcoming season. He finished with 16 points and could have easily added more if not for the injury. Regardless of class, he’s a legit top 3 player in America.

- Harrison Barnes was his same effective self in the match up with Gilchrist. He’s a great player and a true winner on the court. He’s got all the tools to be great and some added flashiness to keep the fans oohing and ahhing. He did have a tough time against Gilchrist and his relentless defense, but he still got his usual point total in the teens. Gilchrist’s defense seemed to turn Barnes into more of a spot shooter rather than driver, which is a huge testament to how quick Gilchrist was able to slide his feet on D. I got the chance to talk to Barnes, who is exceptionally articulate and just an all around nice kid. Previously, he had listed 12 schools but that list has been cut to 11 with the departure of Tim Floyd from USC. He spoke about the opportunity to see the rivalry game between UNC and Duke in Cameron Indoor during the past season, noting the intensity and the competitiveness that both teams brought to the hot arena, packed with Blue Devil fans. In terms of rumors that Kansas and Duke are leaders, he said “that might be a bit premature at this point,” mainly because he hasn’t had the opportunity to see other schools, giving North Carolina and as examples of campuses that he plans on getting a better look at.

 

[The Truth]

Harrison Barnes finished his play at the camp with a 12.7 per game average which was good for 4th place overall (considering the quality that was there this weekend from various classess...most impressive) slightly eding out Kyrie Irving (who I'm hoping to get to see play in person next month. If Crean can land he and Dominque Ferguson...watch out for the Hoosiers) for the spot. He also got the "Workout Warrior" Award.

Some Big 10 related info:

-Michigan State commit Russell Byrd can fill it from long rage. He was on fire in the championship game, nailing 4 or 5 deep threes.

-I don't know if Minnesota is interested in Casey Prather but he was a scoring machine and really impressed. I have seen him play and I think he's very, very underrated. I think it's going to be hard to get him out of the South but it's worth a shot.

-Ray McCallum out of Country Day in Michigan turned a lot of heads with his defense on Joe Jackson. I know a little about him and from reading the reports coming out of the camp it doesn't look like (unless he ends up playing for his father) he'll be staying in Big 10 country. Which is a shame. I think he's another one of those "under the radar" national recruits that a lot of people don't know about.

-I said it earlier but Tom Crean is doing big things on the recruiting trail getting guys interested in IU again. A lot of people seem ready to concede Kyrie Irving to IU. IU with Ferguson and Irving might be enough to get the ball rolling back to IU competiting at the top of the Big 10.

-Adriean Payne (who I'm following a bit..for obvious reasons) is listing Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State among his favorites. I think he's going to be tough to get out of the Big 10 and watch out for Huggins.