As I try to catch up on this year’s NBA Summer League for the former North Carolina basketball players picked, let’s check out the fourth game for the first Tar Heel to go in the draft, Harrison Barnes, the seventh overall pick by the Golden State Warriors. In his fourth game the small forward once again did not disappoint as his squad took on the Chicago Bulls and beat them pretty soundly by the final of 66 to 57 in a game that was play at the Thomas And Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV. With the win the Warriors remain undefeated in the summer tournament at 4-0 while the Bulls have yet to win a game in it, and have a record of 0-3.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZzTTMt5ds8&version=3&hl=en_US]
For the former player that called Chapel Hill home it was once again a good game, coming close to a double double by scoring a game high of 20 points (7 for 16 ~ 1 for 3 ~ 5 for 6) to go with nine boards as well as two steals while having a pts differential of +10 in the close to 37 minutes of playing time. The 20 points was 3 more than what he had been averaging in the first three games of the Summer League. With now four games under his belt Barnes has scored 71 points and 25 rebounds in all as well as being 8 for 13 from beyond the arc, and while this is the Summer League and play in the regular season will be a lot harder, if you are the Golden State coaching staff you must feel pretty good about having taken the 20 year as your first round pick.
There was no doubt that 6’8″/210 lbs small forward would start for the Golden State Warriors as soon as he was selected as a lottery pick in the draft. But as more games go by it is evident that he will not just play a small role on the team but will be asked to be a significant part of the offensive scheme that head coach Mark Jackson will run in the upcoming season. With one game left for the former North Carolina basketball player it will be then time for him to settle into his new city and surroundings and get ready for the 67th National Basketball Association season, which, for those that would like to know is Tuesday, October 30, 2012 and will run through Wednesday, April 17, 2013. As usual, for all updates on Harrison Barnes and all the other present and former Carolina players check back often to isportsweb!