Harrison Barnes, the Ames, Iowa No. 1 ranked small forward in the class of 2010, told Sports Headliners recently that the Gophers are of equal interest to him as the other 11 college basketball programs on his list of prospective schools. Barnes is ranked No. 1 at his position by both Scout.com and Rivals.com.
Barnes, a 6-6 forward, recently narrowed his list of colleges to 12 including perennial basketball powers Kansas, Duke and Kentucky. Minnesota is the only Big Ten school on the list.
Barnes said he’s “developed a relationship” with Gophers’ coach Tubby Smith. He’s impressed with Smith’s accomplishments as head coach at Kentucky and Minnesota. At Kentucky Smith had 10 consecutive NCAA tournament teams including a national champion. He coached the Gophers to the NCAA tournament this past season, only his second at Minnesota where he inherited a losing program.
Smith’s personality is admired by Barnes. “He’s very down to earth,” Barnes said. “That’s what I like about him.”
Barnes is slender (about 205 pounds) but athletic, with impressive offensive ability that includes ball handling, driving, and shooting three pointers. He averaged 19.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season in high school, according to Rivals.com.
Barnes is interested in business, so academics are important in making his college choice. He wants to choose a program, too, that he believes can contend for a national championship.
Would Barnes consider leaving college early for the NBA? “My plan is to go there (to his school) and get a degree, and if the opportunity to go pro arises, I will address that when it happens, but right now I am going there for four years,” he said.
Barnes, who was at Bloomington Jefferson High School last weekend for an AAU tournament, is friends with 2009 incoming Gophers recruits Royce White and Rodney Williams. The three are similar heights, in the 6-5 to 6-7 range, but Barnes said a log-jam of talent wouldn’t deter a decision to choose the Gophers. Good players “adapt,” according to Barnes.
He’s grown up in Iowa so cold weather is not new to him, or reason to be negative about Minneapolis. “Not a problem at all,” he said.