Harrison Barnes

High school career

Barnes was rated the top player in the class of 2010 by Scout.com and the ESPNU 100, while Rivals.com ranked him second. As a junior, he and Doug McDermott led Ames High School to an Iowa 4A state championship with a 26–0 record; Barnes had 24 points and eight rebounds in the final. As a senior, the team went 27–0 and won a second straight state title, becoming Iowa's first big-school class team to go undefeated in consecutive seasons. In the senior final, he scored 19 points against Southeast Polk.

He averaged 27.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.0 steals, and 4.0 assists that year and was named to the USA Today All-USA First Team. Barnes finished as Ames High School's all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points. He played in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic, scoring 18 points for Skip to My Lou. In 2010, he was selected to the Junior National Select Team for the Nike Hoop Summit.

He also played in the McDonald's All-American Game, leading the West team to a 107–104 victory with a team-high 18 points and earning co-MVP honors with Jared Sullinger. At the Jordan Brand Classic, he was named co-MVP with Kyrie Irving. Barnes won the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award. He completed nine advanced placement credits before graduating.

On the AAU circuit, he played for All Iowa Attack and Howard Pulley Panthers. Barnes considered offers from Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and UCLA. He took official visits to North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, UCLA, and Oklahoma, and unofficially visited Iowa State. He announced his decision to join the Tar Heels via Skype to coach Roy Williams on November 13, 2009.

College career

Barnes scored 21 points in his North Carolina debut in an exhibition game in the Bahamas against the Commonwealth Bank Giants. He averaged 22 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for UNC in the Bahamas. He was named a preseason All-American by the AP on November 1, 2010. In his regular-season debut against Lipscomb, he had 14 points and 4 rebounds.

He recorded his first career double-double on December 11 with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 96–91 win over Long Beach State. As a freshman, he made several clutch plays, including scoring eight of his twelve points in the closing minutes against Virginia Tech, hitting a game-winning three-pointer against Miami, and nailing a three-pointer to beat Florida State. He set a career high of 26 points against Boston College on February 1, 2011, then surpassed it on March 12 with 40 points and eight rebounds in an ACC tournament game against Clemson, setting the record for points by a freshman in an ACC tournament game.

Despite being projected as a lottery pick, Barnes announced on April 18 that he would return for his sophomore season. In his second season, he led the team in scoring in 16 of 38 games, helping North Carolina win the ACC regular-season title, reach the ACC tournament final, and advance to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament. He became the ninth player in school history to earn ACC Rookie of the Year recognition. He scored the most points as a freshman in the ACC tournament since Phil Ford in 1975, and his 84 points in the NCAA tournament were the most by any UNC freshman.

Professional career

Barnes entered the 2012 NBA draft along with Tyler Zeller, Kendall Marshall, and John Henson. He worked out with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, and Toronto Raptors before being selected seventh overall by the Golden State Warriors. Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Barnes could defend all five positions. In Game 4 of the 2013 NBA Playoffs semifinals, he scored 26 points and added 10 rebounds.

He was named to the 2012–13 All-Rookie first team and placed sixth in Rookie of the Year voting. He started for Team Hill in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. On April 16, 2014, he scored a career-high 30 points against the Denver Nuggets. The Warriors finished the regular season 51–31 but lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

Under new head coach Steve Kerr, Barnes returned to the starting lineup. On March 18, 2015, he scored a season-high 25 points in a 114–95 win over the Atlanta Hawks. On April 2, he hit a running shot with less than a second remaining to lift the Warriors to a 107–106 victory over the Phoenix Suns. In the playoffs, he averaged 12.8 points per game while shooting 54.4% from the field in the semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, he scored 24 points to help the Warriors reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years. Barnes won his first NBA championship when the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the 2015 NBA Finals.

National team career

Barnes was named to the United States national team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in June 2016. He helped Team USA win the gold medal in Rio, averaging 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game over four games. In August 2019, he was named to the national team for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, where the team finished seventh with a 6–2 record. Barnes averaged 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in that tournament.