Barnes Switches To Pulley AAU Team

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Read this on Iowa State blog.

Due to scheduling conflicts, Harrison Barnes has dropped off the All-Iowa Attack AAU team and will play for the Pulley AAU team (when possible) the rest of the spring and summer.
 

Wouldn't it be great if the real reason is he wants to play with his future Gopher teammates!!!
 


Link to Iowa State board where they talk about Harrison and Minnesota. Not sure I agree with some of the ISU fans who think getting away from Sullivan, who they viewed as anti-ISU, will be a positive for them. The Pulley guys haven't forgot what happenned to Cory Johnson at Iowa State.
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/mens-basketball/57627-barnes-play-howard-pulley.html


This isn't a total suprise as Harrison had to be talked out of playing for Pulley last weekend.
 

Well, this is an interesting development.

Just reinforces the notion that Barnes bears even closer watching on the recruiting front. Still a long ways to go however.
 


Barnes is such your atypical recruit in that he's very mature and very intelligent and thoughtful. He's very well grounded. He's the type of recruit that would choose the Gophers over Duke and Kansas because he doesn't appear to be the one to get caught up in the rah-rah hype surrounding those programs. I'm not saying this would happen, but if there's ever a case of an elite recruit choosing a program like Minnesota over Kansas, UNC, and Duke, he would be the one kid.
 

KyGopherfan said:
Barnes is such your atypical recruit in that he's very mature and very intelligent and thoughtful. He's very well grounded. He's the type of recruit that would choose the Gophers over Duke and Kansas because he doesn't appear to be the one to get caught up in the rah-rah hype surrounding those programs. I'm not saying this would happen, but if there's ever a case of an elite recruit choosing a program like Minnesota over Kansas, UNC, and Duke, he would be the one kid.
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Good point.
 

I was down in Ankeny, IA this weekend coaching in ALL Iowa Attacks Tournament. And as you can guess the buzz of the tournament was: "where is HB?". After talking to a number of people close to the situation it sounds like the goal for the summer was for HB to play agianst the best competition week in and week out and that is what HP provides for him. Hopefully this MN connection continues at the UofM.
 

Am I the first to suggest...

Am I the first to suggest, could Harrison play in a more appropriatly named place than The Barn?

:clap: :clap: :clap:
 



From jake Sullivan's blog concerning HB:
This past week has been the most difficult week for me personally since starting the Attack program five years ago. On Tuesday I received an email from an individual who had decided to quit the Attack program after four years for various reasons that will remain between us. I have had the opportunity to see this young man grow so much over the past four years as he began accomplishing things he only dreamed of as a 7th-8th grader. He meant as much to me as any kid I have ever had in the program and because of the crazy world we live in has decided to leave the program.
 

Two thoughts

1. Does it sound in Jake's blog that he believes Barnes was encouraged by others to ditch the Iowa team in favor of Pulley? If so, what does it say about his loyalty? Just speculation, not judgment.

2. This guy reminds me a lot of Chris Carawell from St. Louis, a mid 90's or so recruit of the Gophers, who was mature, smart, etc. and also recruited by Puke. He picked Puke over the Gophers, obviously, and had a nice career, but not the star like numbers you might have expected. Let's hope Barnes makes a better choice than him.:)
 

Sounds to me as if the AAU "handlers" have gotten to HB. I am anxious to see how this all plays out. As far as basketball is concerned i think it is a sound move, HP plays a more high profile schedule than that of AIA; but not by a great margin but still more exposure (does HB need any more exposure?!? -doubtful-). What does it show about his character?
 

stroms7 said:
What does it show about his character?
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Nothing. He is by all accounts a high characteer guy, and we don't know why he left. He's a high school junior, and loyalty at the expense of reasonable self-interest/adventure/growth is not a trait of high school juniors--and frankly, it shouldn't be.

And as for Carawell, I remember his recruitment well. WHile he was an excellent baller, he wasn't ranked at the same level as Barnes. And Clem recruited him, but i never had any sense that Carawell was doing much more than being polite and keeping an out in case Duke fell through. To me there's a huge difference between a St louis kid and an Ames kid, and a huge difference between the chance to play for Clem vs the chance to play for Tubby. Only Barnes can make the decision as to THE best place for him to play, but there's no question when you look at all the factors that the gophers are one of the best for him. I don't think I could have said that about Carawell.
 



sec201..

Am I the first to suggest...
Am I the first to suggest, could Harrison play in a more appropriatly named place than The Barn?
Click to expand...

05-03-2009, 09:09 PM

So then Barnes might be playing in Barnes Barn. Sweet.
Click to expand...

Nope you are not.
 

I can understand Sullivan's disappointment. I'm more of a that will happen type of person and Harrison Barnes is walking the path he's supposed to walk. That path has taken him to Pulley. All coaches have an important part in their player's development. Players and coaches alike should be thankful for the time spent, the skills aquired, and the lessons learned. That doesn't mean there may not be a few bad feelings when they part ways, but as you look back in time, for whatever reasons, it will have been the right thing to do.
 

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