F - Harrison Barnes - North Carolina - Sophomore 6-8 223 Ames H.S./Ames, IA (5/30/1992)
Breakdown: Barnes showed improvements in FG% (.423 to .440), 3P% (.344 to .358), and PPG (15.7 to 17.1) from his freshman to sophomore years. That said, it doesn't seem he has had any marked improvements in his draft status by staying the extra year (Currently ranked #7 overall prospect by draftexpress.com after being ranked as low as #11 last year).
NBA Skill Set: Barnes does have the ideal frame for an NBA small forward at 6-8 and with a wingspan of 6-11, and a well-chiseled 223 pounds. He doesn't jump out of the gym like other top SF prospects so his role coming out will probably be as a defender first. Barnes was mainly a catch-and-shoot/ pull-up jumper guy at UNC and will need to work on being able to get to the basket more and take advantage of his size to get to the free throw line. He also needs to work on being a better passer/facilitator in the framework of an offense as he won't be a primary option right away when he gets to the league.
NBA player could-be-like:Paul Pierce. Barnes isn't going to ever 'wow' anyone with his athleticism but Pierce never really did either and is a perennial NBA All-Star.
Houston Texans quarterback T.J. Yates >>> 4th quarter comebacks in first two starts of career #tebowing Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray >>> broken ankle last week ended season early but put up big numbers and proved his doubters wrong #boomersooner
Feed the beast . . . footballs; not Skittles.
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch >>> tearing up NFL defenses right now and will be getting big time paid very soon #BEAST_MODE Indiana University basketball coach Tom Crean >>> hoops team back on the rise after knocking off No. 1 Kentucky, Assembly Hall is jumpin' again #HOOSIERS ESPN 30 for 30 >>> Chris Herren 'Unguarded' and Todd Marinovich 'The Marinovich Project' documentaries are the latest installments in a great series taking viewers behind the scenes of unique athletes and sports phenomena #realsh*t
#5 Kendall Marshall - Guard 6-3 186 Freshman Dumfries, VA 6.2 ppg 6.1 apg
The Tar Heels were point-guard-by-committee for the first 21 games of the season until Marshall emerged. His first game playing significant minutes came Feb. 6 against Florida State in Tallahasee. Marshall dimed 16 assists on the Seminoles; the all-time single game record for a UNC player in an ACC game. The freshman point possesses poise beyond his years and has been unflappable so far in the tournament. The Tar Heels will need Marshall to settle down the offense and not get into a shoot out with a Marquette team that likes to make you play in a hurry.
The more low-post oriented of the Morris twins. Coming off a 24-point 12-rebound performance against Illinois in the round of 32, Kansas must continue to feed its hot hand. The Jayhawks can kill the will of the upstart Spiders by pounding them inside where they don't really have much depth. Dominant inside play by Markieff and his brother Marcus will lead to double-teams in the post and kickouts to the perimeter that will give Kansas shooters Brady Morningstar and Tyshawn Taylor plenty of open looks.
Buford can kill you from anywhere on the floor.
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Ohio State
#44 William Buford - Guard 6-5 205 Junior Toledo, OH 14.6 ppg 4 rpg 3 apg
Buford is the jack-of-all-trades for the Buckeyes and the team's most athletic guard. He can hurt you on offense from either guard position. He creates a matchup problem with his size as he has the ability to rise and shoot over smaller defenders and is fast enough to penetrate past bigger ones. Good at drawing help defense and finding David Lighty and Jon Diebler for open 3-pointers on the perimeter or dropping off passes to Jared Sullinger when driving the paint. You can't play off of him either as he his hitting at 44-percent clip from beyond the arc. Buford is also the team's best on ball defender and will likely be given the task of staying in front of Kentucky freshman guard Brandon Knight.
Singleton goes hard in the paint.
No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth vs. No. 10 Florida State
#31 Chris Singleton - Forward 6-9 225 Junior Canton, GA 13 ppg 6.7 rpg 2 spg 1.5 bpg, leads team in all categories
The Seminoles might not have snuck up on anyone by surprise if it wasn't for an injury to Singleton's foot that required him to have surgery after a Feb. 12 game against Virginia. Many assumed Singleton would be out for the season and that Florida State could not perform well enough without him to make the NCAA tournament since Singleton was playing like an ACC Player of the Year candidate before he went down with the injury. Despite going 3-3 without their best player, the 'Noles made the tournament, and Singleton returned for the team's opening round game victory against Texas A&M after missing just over a month. He hasn't returned to full form yet (0 points in 10 minutes against Notre Dame last round) but will be critical in tonight's game against VCU as the Rams will look to forwards Jamie Skeen (15.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Bradford Burgess (23 points and eight rebounds in last round win vs. Purdue) to carry them to the Elite Eight.
Texas is 10-0 in the Big 12, including a win over #1 Kansas.
Kansas (24-1, 9-1 Big 12) enters the week as the nation's number one team after previously unbeaten Ohio State (24-1, 11-1 Big Ten) fell to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison last Saturday, even though Texas knocked off the Jayhawks 74-63 in Lawrenceon Jan. 22. Still, the Longhorns (22-3, 10-0 Big 12) were edged by only one vote by Kansas in this week's balloting and it would not be surprising for Texas to overtake that #1 ranking even if both teams win out during the regular season. The reason why: You don't mess with Texas' schedule. Coach Rick Barnes put his team in a position where they would battle tested come this time of year by playing a rather brutal non-conference schedule, despite having a young team. The Longhorns have recorded wins over Illinois, North Carolina, and Michigan State, while losing to Big East powers Pittsburgh and Connecticut by a combined three points (their third loss was on the road to Southern California Dec. 5, a clear aberration at this point). All five of those teams are ranked top 50 in RPI. The strategy has paid off as Texas is 10-0 in conference play with wins over #16 Texas A&M (twice), Baylor, #13 Missouri, and that "W" against the then second-ranked Jayhawks on the road. As a result, many experts believe Texas is the team to beat right now. (including a friend of mine who told me on Facebook about a month ago that he could easily see Texas in the Final Four. I see where he's coming from now, especially since he predicted the Melo Syracuse team to win the NCAA championship in 2003, when the Orange weren't even ranked!) Bob Knight called sophomore guard/ forward Jordan Hamilton the best offensive player in the country and for good reason. Hamilton, a very athletic and aggresive slasher out of Dominguez H.S. in Compton, is averaging 18.9 points per contest and can score on the drive and is shooting well from distance (41%). At 6'7" 220, he definitely has a little Carmelo Anthony in his game. Inside is true freshmen Tristan Thompson averaging 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. He is 6'8" but plays alot taller than that because of his long arms. I can see a little Hakim Warrick in him. Sophomore guard J'Covan Brown, former McDonald's All-American and Florida-transfer Jai Lucas, along with Turkish product Dogus Balbay, fill out the other guard spots. Maybe combined they can bring to the table what Gerry McNamara did. But there are teams on the rise that will have something to say come tournament time, and teams that better find a way to get their act together quick, or they won't make it out of the first weekend.
Pick your poison between Marcus, right, or Markieff.
On the Rise
The Morris Twins and Kansas - Despite the humbling setback to Texas, the Jayhawks have imposed their will on almost every other team they have played this season. They lead the nation in field goal percentage (52.3), Marcus Morris is averaging nearly 17 ppg on 61 percent shooting while Markieff Morris averages 13 per on 59 percent shooting.
Brad Wanamaker and Pittsburgh - With leading scorer Ashton Gibbs out with a MCL injury, the senior from Philly dropped a big 21 points at the Pavillion against Villanova Saturday to lead the No. 4 Panthers (23-2, 11-1 Big East) to a 57-54 win last Saturday.
Harrison Barnes and North Carolina - Maybe its just me but Barnes looks like he is finally benefitting from the college weight room. Barnes appears to be more defined in his body, and his game is also responding, as he has scored in double figures in eight of 10 conference games. In case you needed visual evidence . . .
On the Fall
Kemba Walker and UConn - I had Walker as P.O.Y., as many others did earlier, and he's still averaging 22.8 ppg, good for seventh in the country, but the game against Syracuse in Hartford killed it for me. Kemba had 8 points and the Huskies just looked plain awful against the 2-3 zone. I know not everyone can defend like the 'Cuse but why wouldn't other teams just zone up UConn and make someone other than Walker beat you?
The Illini are fading away.
Chris Singleton and Florida State - The big win over Duke Jan. 12 in Tallahasee may not mean anything now that Singleton will undergo surgery to repair a broken right ankle. Singleton led the Seminoles in scoring (13.8), rebounding (7.1), steals (2.1), and 3-point percentage (37.5).
Demetri McCamey and Illinois - Bruce Weber has had a long drought since reaching the NCAA Tournament Final in 2005 (with mostly Bill Self's players) but had the talent and experience this year to atleast make a push in the Big Ten. McCamey averaged 16.2 points, 7.2 assists, and shot 52.5 percent from three in the first 19 games of the season. In the last six games McCamey is averaging 7 points, has 25 assists to 21 turnovers, and is shooting 32.5 percent from distance. The Illini (16-9, 6-6 Big Ten) are 2-4 in those games.
Still Dangerous:
G - Nolan Smith - Duke
G - Jimmer Fredette - Brigham Young
F - Terrence Jones - Kentucky
G/F - Jordan Hamilton - Texas
Knowles hit 7 3's on the 'Cuse Feb. 12
F/C - Jared Sullinger - Ohio State
Players to Watch
G - Ben Hansbrough - Notre Dame
G - Preston Knowles - Louisville
F - John-Paul Olukemi - Oklahoma State
G - Jordan Taylor - Wisconsin
G - LaceDarius Dunn - Baylor
G - Erving Walker - Florida
F - Mouphtaou Yarou - Villanova
G - Dwight Hardy - St. John's
F - Derrick Williams - Arizona
G - William Buford - Ohio State
