I think his ceiling would be adding 15-25 pounds and being a poor mans Jordan Nwora on O and a rich man’s Nwora on D (especially if he continues to grow) . Like the pickup a lot, but don’t see CM either(CM was elite on the defensive end). TH is a more pure shooter but I don’t hate that comp either at this point in their careers…(smaller schools, lots of potential)
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Yea he kinda seems like a prototypical Beilein top 100 recruit and that is not a bad thing at all. Nice pull Juwan!
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I agree - this class is going to need a few players in the 50-100 ranking area and starting with a guy who can play multiple positions, isn’t a 1-and-done, and checks a lot of boxes in the scouting report is great. A player like Barnes fits in any class, but especially one in need of bodies everywhere.
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Dylan, how quick did this happen? Was this sort of a “do you want to be a part of this class” or was this in the works for weeks
Michigan offered back in April, so it wasn’t immediate. Hope to have some more on his recruitment, development and how it all went down shortly.
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Maybe a bouncier Jalen Wilson?
Hopefully also a less jayhawky Jalen Wilson.
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And hopefully a more committed Jalen Wilson (I’m not blaming him though)
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I am way more excited about Barnes than I was about Wilson. Not even close. Barnes does not have the same level of overall skill that Wilson has but he looks a lot longer and explosive to me—and he does have some overall skill. He looks like he can do a little bit of everything. Very excited to have Barnes.
From my perspective Wilson looked overrated and Barnes looks underrated.
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I like it!
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I’ll second that.
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I like the pick up a lot and Barnes has a higher ceiling due to being a better athlete but Wilson was pretty damn good. Very crafty and better fundamentals / offensive iq and overall versatility in the ways he scored at the same stage.
Wilson would have pretty damn good here imo, particularly if it was coach b as he had signed up for.
I know it’s a 15 minute long high school highlight clip but the back to back highlights starting at 10:05 has me excited. He catches it in the corner hits the first defender with a lightning quick and low cross over than splits two defenders to the rim for a lay in off hand
Then the next play they hit him with an oop Following an out of bounds play. He flushed it but it first appears the pass was off and too far away from the rim or something. Barnes just floats and puts it down somehow.
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His HS film certainly has the flashes you look for. Just wish he was able to play on a grassroots circuit this summer to see how he stacks up at that level.
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Wilson is good. High skill. Limited as an athlete, imo. Strong but not explosive. I never could figure out his height. He is listed at 6’8”. Seems more like the equivalent of a 6’5”. Very much a below the rim type player.
I saw Barnes make a few very athletic plays including a monster block.
I’ll be interested to see how he does at Simeon this year. The gap between AAU and the suburban Chicago leagues is pretty big - his Oak Park team lost to a few north side public schools in the state playoffs that don’t really factor into real competitive CPS ball, like Lane Tech.
Yep – that’s the thing about the gap in HS and UAA film… The level of comp is different. Would love to see him in EYBL this summer, for example.
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There is no question that the competition in the highlight video I saw was not good. There is also no question, in my mind anyway, that Barnes can shoot it form all three levels including DEEP, that he has a nice crossover, and that he possesses a good amount of athleticism. Like Dylan, though, I would like to have seen him in the EYBL this summer, and, yes, it will be interesting to see how he plays for Simeon in the CPL during this HS season.
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Yeah - Simeon is the defending CPL champ after shutting down Adam Miller and Brandon Weston (Morgan Park) in the finals. They return four starters - even seeing what his preliminary role is will be somewhat telling.
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