Debit One
01-10-2009, 09:14 AM
Having nothing better to do on a snowy Friday night, I attended the Ames vs. Marshalltown game. My report to HaLo:
Harrison Barnes:
This kid is smooth. Very, very smooth. He's about 6'6", maybe 190 lbs. Good but not out of this world athletic ability. He won't jump out of the gym, but he's the first guy off of the floor to go get a rebound.
His basketball skills are way over the top. He'd be an all state guard if he was 6'1". He handles the ball very well, can go either direction, and can use either hand at the rim.
Watching him in warm ups he can obviously shoot well from outside, but only took one shot from beyond the free throw line during the game. His offensive game right now is all about getting into the lane and to the rim, which he can do because he handles the ball really well. Several times he would post up in a sort of mid range spot, then spin from there to get to the rim. He also had one very nice clear out at the top of the key where he ended up hitting a turnaround jumper from the free throw line.
He also played well on defense. He was matched up on Creekmur and pretty well contained him. He has long arms, is quick, and seems very willing to work hard.
I tried to think of who I would use as a comparison to him. I came up with two names which are in a way ridiculous, but I have to use names that are well enough known. First is Paul Pierce. I can imagine Paul Pierce looking like this in high school. Second is Tracy McGrady. I mention those two guys because neither is a jump out of the gym player, both are smooth, and both look to get to the rim. Barnes obviously has a lot of work to do, and physical development required to get to that point but you can see how it could happen.
I liked the fact that he wasn't selfish on offense. He's clearly the best player on that team, but the offense wasn't all about getting him the ball and he wasn't jacking up bad shots.
I can see why schools are falling all over themselves about this guy.
Creekmur:
A Lickliter type of kid. 6'5" perimeter oriented player. I'm not sure that he went inside at all on offense. I think that I didn't see him at his best, probably in part because he was having to deal with Barnes on him and it has to be unusual for him to have someone his own size guarding him beyond the three point line. He's athletic enough, with enough quickness and lift on his jumper to get his shot off if he doesn't have a Barnes in his face.
Had I not known that he is going to Iowa, unfortunately I wouldn't have said "wow, that kid is a D-1 player" after watching him.
Ames as a team:
This is a very good high school basketball team. Barnes is obviously the lead dog, but they have two nice guards, a good wing player opposite from Barnes, and two good post players (one being McDermott's son). They play hard, putting good defensive pressure on the other team. This is what made the difference in the 3rd quarter when they put the game away.
I don't think that you can focus too much on Barnes if you are playing against them, because those other guys will hurt you. They spread the floor well on offense, so if you're going to cheat too much towards Barnes it will be a problem, and the Ames kids seemed good enough to find whoever you leave open.
I can see how thumped Valley by 60 once they got on a roll.
Harrison Barnes:
This kid is smooth. Very, very smooth. He's about 6'6", maybe 190 lbs. Good but not out of this world athletic ability. He won't jump out of the gym, but he's the first guy off of the floor to go get a rebound.
His basketball skills are way over the top. He'd be an all state guard if he was 6'1". He handles the ball very well, can go either direction, and can use either hand at the rim.
Watching him in warm ups he can obviously shoot well from outside, but only took one shot from beyond the free throw line during the game. His offensive game right now is all about getting into the lane and to the rim, which he can do because he handles the ball really well. Several times he would post up in a sort of mid range spot, then spin from there to get to the rim. He also had one very nice clear out at the top of the key where he ended up hitting a turnaround jumper from the free throw line.
He also played well on defense. He was matched up on Creekmur and pretty well contained him. He has long arms, is quick, and seems very willing to work hard.
I tried to think of who I would use as a comparison to him. I came up with two names which are in a way ridiculous, but I have to use names that are well enough known. First is Paul Pierce. I can imagine Paul Pierce looking like this in high school. Second is Tracy McGrady. I mention those two guys because neither is a jump out of the gym player, both are smooth, and both look to get to the rim. Barnes obviously has a lot of work to do, and physical development required to get to that point but you can see how it could happen.
I liked the fact that he wasn't selfish on offense. He's clearly the best player on that team, but the offense wasn't all about getting him the ball and he wasn't jacking up bad shots.
I can see why schools are falling all over themselves about this guy.
Creekmur:
A Lickliter type of kid. 6'5" perimeter oriented player. I'm not sure that he went inside at all on offense. I think that I didn't see him at his best, probably in part because he was having to deal with Barnes on him and it has to be unusual for him to have someone his own size guarding him beyond the three point line. He's athletic enough, with enough quickness and lift on his jumper to get his shot off if he doesn't have a Barnes in his face.
Had I not known that he is going to Iowa, unfortunately I wouldn't have said "wow, that kid is a D-1 player" after watching him.
Ames as a team:
This is a very good high school basketball team. Barnes is obviously the lead dog, but they have two nice guards, a good wing player opposite from Barnes, and two good post players (one being McDermott's son). They play hard, putting good defensive pressure on the other team. This is what made the difference in the 3rd quarter when they put the game away.
I don't think that you can focus too much on Barnes if you are playing against them, because those other guys will hurt you. They spread the floor well on offense, so if you're going to cheat too much towards Barnes it will be a problem, and the Ames kids seemed good enough to find whoever you leave open.
I can see how thumped Valley by 60 once they got on a roll.