3:20 Update
UNC-CH has released a statement to the media that Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall and John Henson will all enter the 2012 NBA Draft. Stay tuned….more to come
These departures will turn up the local volume on the speculation around CJ Leslie‘s pending decision that is discussed here. Interestingly, the addition of Carolina’s two highly ranked forwards – Henson and Barnes – will serve to drop Leslie in any projected NBA Draft. Similarly, future announcements from other big men and athletic forwards across the country like Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Terrance Jones, Baylor’s Perry Jones, Kansas’ Thomas Robinson, Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and even Illinois’ Meyers Leonard could serve to populate this year’s draft with SO MUCH front court talent that Leslie’s NBA prospects could be significantly watered down this year.
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Original Entry
There are lots of rumors circulating in the area that UNC-CH’s Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall and John Henson all intend to forego their remaining college eligibility for a jump into the NBA Draft. Despite some comments to the contrary, it is also rumored that James Michael McAdoo’s decision to stay may not be 100% set in stone as of yet.
At least one of their decisions may come sooner than we thought. This news report just came out of Iowa (Barnes’ home).
DES MOINES, Iowa — KCCI sports director Andy Garman says former Ames High basketball standout and current North Carolina player Harrison Barnes is expected to make an announcement on his future today.Garman says Barnes has made a decision on whether to enter the NBA draft or stay at North Carolina. Barnes is expected to make that announcement later today.
Check KCCI.com and KCCI-TV for updates.
Read more: http://www.kcci.com/sports/30792496/detail.html#ixzz1qWqzROc3
If you have not yet read the Grantland article on Harrison Barnes, I strongly recommend that you click to it through this link and read it. Fantastic work.
It became a problem. In the Atlantic piece, Barnes admitted his reluctance to talk about his faith or his political leanings because he didn’t want to polarize the public. There’s certainly nothing logically wrong with this thinking — Jordan and Jeter built their brands using a similar line of thought. The difference, of course, is that Jordan didn’t say, “Republicans buy shoes, too” when he was still living in a dorm room in Chapel Hill. This is where the flattening logic of business turns into insanity. It’s crazy that Barnes was thinking about his brand before he played a minute of college basketball. It’s crazy that when Barnes struggled mightily during his freshman year, he was still thinking about that brand. And it’s crazy that before the NCAA tournament, Barnes felt the need to broadcast his brand through a national magazine by talking, of course, about his brand. The “all-business” rationale falls apart when the business is purely speculative. After two disastrous games in the NCAA tournament and a largely disappointing sophomore season, what, exactly, is the Harrison Barnes brand? What endorsement opportunities does he have right now?
