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As Barnes goes, so goes Carolina

Posted on December 8, 2011December 13, 2011 by Staff

Eddy Landreth

Eddy Landreth
Staff Writer
The best thing to come from North Carolina’s 73-72 loss at Kentucky is that sophomore Harrison Barnes appeared to be upset he did not get to take the last shot.

“This is a very good team, and this would have been a very big road win for us,” Barnes said. “The fact that we couldn’t execute down the stretch is kind of alarming.”

It’s possible I’m reading too much into what Barnes said, but looking at his face as he said it gave much greater meaning than the words themselves.

He wanted the ball. I’m convinced of that.

If that is the case, coach Roy Williams, his staff, the rest of the team and all the fans who were cursing and stomping as UNC failed to seize the moment should be ecstatic.

This team needs someone to take those kinds of shots. Championship teams have a player who is fearless. He may not make the shot all the time, but he is ready, willing and never afraid to take it.

Barnes has been that kind of player for the Tar Heels during his brief career at UNC.

Here is the thing about great players: They do not just want the ball in crucial moments; they demand it.

Early in my sports-writing career, I covered Duke’s back-to-back national championships in 1991 and ’92. Christian Laettner sank big shot after big shot for those teams. He became furious if anyone else dared take the shot instead of him.

The result was consecutive national championships and a moment in the East Regional final in Philadelphia against Kentucky that is burned into the minds of even college basketball fans too young to have seen it live.

The greatest at performing those last-second heroics, of course, was UNC’s Michael Jordan. Although James Worthy was the dominant force on the court that night, Jordan hit the winning jump shot to give coach Dean Smith his first national title in 1982.

Jordan went on to own the NBA with his fierce competitive spirit and the talents he developed through countless hours of hard work. A collegiate coach from another school once told me Jordan was the most fundamentally sound player in the NBA.

Barnes resembles Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant more than he does Jordan, but that’s OK because Bryant is the successor to Jordan with his guts and ability to take and make game-winners.

If the loss at Kentucky encourages Barnes to go to point guard Kendall Marshall and demand the ball in future situations, the Tar Heels’ odds of winning the national championship this season will grow immensely.

There are plenty of minutes for Zeller, John Henson, P.J. Hairston, Reggie Bullock and all the other Tar Heels to get their points. But if you can recall Barnes’ game-winning shots against Miami and Florida State a year ago, then you have to realize he must be the one who gets the ball with the clock winding down and Carolina in need of a go-ahead bucket.

“We weren’t getting the shots we wanted,” Barnes said. “We’ve got to work on getting better shots.”

That should begin by getting Barnes the ball, if at all possible, with the game on the line. No one else wearing a Carolina uniform today is better equipped to get the job done.

1 thought on “As Barnes goes, so goes Carolina”

  1. michael mobley says:
    December 8, 2011 at 6:29 pm

    If HB had played better-with more passion, all game long, the team would not have needed a last second shot. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a good player, but far from being a great player at this point of his career. He needs 40 minutes of passionate play every night to rise to the level of his potential.

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