CycloneReport.com - The Barnes watch enters final week

November 9, 2009

Paul Clark
CycloneReport.com Publisher

By the end of this week, the hoops world is scheduled to know where Ames (Iowa) basketball phenom Harrison Barnes intends to play his college basketball.

Barnes is ranked as the no. 2 overall prospect in the country by Rivals.com for the class of 2010 and many other media have him ranked no. 1. I've never met Brandon Knight or seen him play, but it's hard to imagine there a more total and complete player - and young man - anywhere in the country than Harrison Barnes. So in this instance, I have to undock from the mother ship and go with those who have Barnes as the overall no. 1 in the country for 2010.

Friday afternoon at Ames High School, at a time yet to be finalized by Barnes and school officials, he'll make his public announcement about which school's letter-of-intent he'll be signing. The actual deed might even be done by then as the signing period starts Wednesday. Or maybe not. However Barnes does it, he'll do it with the same logic and foresight that he's done everything with throughout his ascent from "there's a pretty good freshman at Ames" to the national basketball recruiting spotlight. Barnes seemed to have a guidebook in hand to prepare him for every occurrence as it's come up. It's almost as if he prepared his whole life to be the nation's best high school basketball player and then put in the work to make it happen. The process has never been on top of Barnes; he's been on top of the process the whole time.

He's done it with an extraordinary maturity that belies his age by a long shot. I've talked to thousands of football and basketball recruiting prospects over the past eight recruiting years in both sports. And I've talked to a lot of bright, articulate, mature and wise-beyond-his-years teenagers. Out of then all, I can honestly say there has only been one Harrison Barnes, who from the first time I spoke to him has seemed at least 10 years more put together and on the ball than his current age at any give time. He was a little shy at 14 or 15 but the characteristics were certainly there. And over the past three years, the inner confidence has become outer confidence - but it has never become arrogance. He's still just a "good kid," although it doesn't even seem appropriate to call him a kid with the level of maturity he shows.

The point is: success hasn't spoiled Harrison Barnes. There may be sports prima donnas walking the halls of Ames High School, but Barnes isn't one of them. And it would take a lot of cockiness to strut around AHS like you own the place when Barnes is there and he's not doing it.

Perhaps even more refreshing is the fact that Barnes has ascended to the top without the typical posse of hangers on that elite basketball prospects usually attract. Sadly, that's almost unheard of these days in the meat market culture of basketball recruiting. The expression "handlers" is often used to describe the profiteering adults who try to get their hooks into young basketball talent and Barnes has no doubt had would be handlers try to get into the act. But he and his rock of a mom, Shirley, have had absolutely none of it. Shirley has been "handling" Harrison since day one and it's pretty obvious that Barnes has all the posse he needs in one woman who has proven to him over the course of 17+ years that she'll get the job done right by him.

Where Barnes will go to college remains an entire unknown. Speculation has run rampant nationally for the better part of a year now and anyone who says they have any clue where he will sign is a phony. Barnes hasn't played the game and he hasn't been played by the game. No one has manipulated Barnes into divulging any more information than he's been ready to divulge. And he's never once slipped up and said more than he wanted to at any time. When it was time to cut his list to 12, he cut it to 12. When it was time to cut it to six, he cut it to six. And that's where we stand now.

Anyone anywhere who purports to know that Barnes favors this school or that school or has really narrowed it down to these two or these three, quite frankly, is a fraud. Because they darned sure didn't get the information from Barnes himself.

We'll all find out together on Friday and it will be a very exciting day. Naturally folks in Cyclone Country are hoping for a pro-Iowa State announcement and Iowa State has as good a shot as any of the other schools to be Barnes' pick: 1-in-6. That's where things are right now, don't let anyone tell you any different. Except Harrison Barnes, and he's not talking?until Friday. Of course, CycloneReport.com will be there to cover the big event. It will be the first really big college choice event at Ames High School since current ISU starting quarterback Austen Arnaud announced his future intentions back in June of 2005.

The library held that one but I'm not sure it will be big enough for Barnes' big reveal. We might be talking auditorium, or gymnasium, or football stadium. No matter the specific venue, it will be a day to remember for Barnes, his friends and family, and the community.

Iowa State NEWS

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