Harrison Barnes, the North Carolina small forward, was honored as the first freshman selection to the preseason AP All-America team since 1986-87. The squad, chosen by the 65-member panel that decides the Top 25 poll, was announced Monday.
"This is indicative of the great respect that Harrison has nationally, and it's an unbelievable accomplishment for a freshman," Roy Williams, Barnes' coach, said. "I know Harrison would agree, however, that it would be even more exciting to make the All-America team that's picked after the season.
"So far in practice, he has shown the ability to grasp things that we are teaching very quickly, he has tremendous concentration and I fully expect that is he going to be a very important player for us from day one."
Barnes was the No. 1-rated player in the class of 2010 by Scouts.com and in the ESPNU Top 100 and the No. 2-rated player by Rivals. The 18-year-old also appeared in the McDonald's All-American Game, where his team-high 18 points got him a co-MVP nod.
Joining Barnes on the AP team are Duke's Kyle Singler, the leading vote-getter and only repeat selection, as well as Kansas State's Jacob Pullen, BYU guard Jimmer Fredette and Purdue's JaJuan Johnson.
No comments:
Post a Comment