For everything that folks wished Harrison Barnes was when the season began, he’s a finisher.
It’s not something a lot of players can say. In fact, it’s not something a lot of elite players can say (see James, LeBron).
But against Duke, North Carolina needs Barnes to be more than a finisher. The Tar Heels need him to play the entire 40 minutes like he does the last four.
Barnes has hit game-winning or go-ahead baskets in five games for UNC. Those include two last-second 3-pointers in the state of Florida, the most recent of which came Wednesday night in Tallahassee.
But as big as those buckets have been for Barnes and the Tar Heels, he hasn’t been nearly as impressive in the opening 36 or so minutes of games. With the biggest game of the season looming, Barnes needs to be the star all game long.
“I would like to always be known as a finisher,” Barnes told me after the N.C. State win last Wednesday. “But it’s more of, make sure it’s a complete game. You shouldn’t always have to have a slow start and then always come up big in the end. You should be able to do it consistently throughout a game.”
He scored nine quick points on 3-for-4 3-point shooting against Maryland on Sunday to start the game and it seemed the Black Falcon would finally string together a complete game. He tapered off though and finished with nine field goals on 23 attempts.
In UNC’s last contest with Duke, Barnes played lockdown defense on Kyle Singler. But the All-ACC senior also played solid D on Barnes and held the freshman to two second-half points.
Sure, Tyler Zeller scored 24 points to lead UNC, but a Barnes 3-ball quiets a crowd and one of his dunks sucks the air out of an arena. His first “Welcome to Chapel Hill” dunk against Kentucky made me give a Gus Johnson “Hpmh!” from press row.
