Filed under: ACC, North Carolina
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - North Carolina's anointed savior, one Harrison Barnes, is a young man of many talents. Barnes plays the saxophone and loves a good joke. In high school - that being just a year ago -- he participated in local food drives, led a week Bible study and sang in the choir. Barnes is also polite, handsome and confident. Does he sound too good to be true?"Harrison's just a great guy to be around," UNC junior forward Tyler Zeller said.
Of course, there's no telling how long Barnes will be around UNC. NBA draft analysts believe Barnes, the national prep player of the year last season at Ames High School in Ames, Iowa, will be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
That's fine and dandy, but, at this very second (remember, it's Atlantic Standard time here, which means Barnes and teammates are an hour ahead of the curve and fans back in Chapel Hill, N.C.) Barnes and the Tar Heels are focused squarely on making their powder blue world right again.
Thursday was another small step in the right direction as the eighth-ranked Tar Heels pounded Hofstra 107-63 in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off here at the Coliseo De Puerto Rico. UNC displayed its unique blend of youth, talent and experience against the overmatched Pride. And it was the most intriguing - and ballyhooed - player on and off the court who helped make that happen.
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