"Woolridge vs. Barnes: Day 1 of the Jayhawk Invitational" by The Newell Post

May 1, 2009

The first reaction after watching most recruits is to overhype them.

We're all guilty of it. There were over 2,000 fans crammed into Haskell's Coffin Complex, and I can guarantee you the KU fans didn't go there to report back to their friends, "Well, Royce Woolridge is an OK player."

My job, in this blog, will be to give you my thoughts on these two guys, hopefully without overhyping. As you probably know, Woolridge has verbally committed to KU, while Barnes is a top-10 player in the class of 2010.

Again, take it for what it's worth. This was one AAU game of dozens for these players over the course of the year. This is just one reporter's thoughts while watching the game from courtside.

Royce Woolridge

Stat line:
29 points, 11-for-25 shooting, 1-for-7 from three-point range, 6-for-9 free throws, three rebounds, three steals, two assists, three turnovers.

Strengths:
Has an ability to get to the rim with ease. Good ball-handler that is able to break down a defender off the dribble. For most of the game, the taller (and more athletic) Harrison Barnes was guarding Woolridge, and Woolridge was able to use his quickness to get by him pretty easily. Woolridge showed a good touch close to the rim. I can't remember him missing a layup, as nearly everything he put off the backboard fell through. After penetrating, he also was able to make some tough shots in the lane over taller defenders. He showed a good vertical leap, and on one play he finished off an alley-oop with a slam at the rim. Showed flashes defensively and came away with three steals. A nice, soft-spoken kid who was polite, honest and even critical of his own play afterwards in the postgame interview.

Weaknesses:
Both Woolridge and his coach admitted it was a bad shooting night, and they were right about that. Almost all of Woolridge's points came from either inside four feet or the free-throw line. He missed almost all of his three-pointers and also clanked a few open mid-range shots. He forced quite a few more bad shots, including at least one airball that was nowhere close to the rim. He looked frustrated a little bit when Barnes played physical against him defensively. He is only a high school junior, but obviously he still could use a lot of work in the weight room. I noticed while standing next to him that he wasn't much taller than me, and I'm 5-foot-8. I'm guessing his listed height of 6-3 might be a bit generous. I would guess he's 6-foot-1 or so.

Kind of reminds me of ... :
Player comparisons are always unfair, but I'll do it any way. When I first saw Woolridge, his body type reminded me of a shorter Keith Langford. His ability to drive, get to the rim and make shots off the glass in traffic also was reminiscent of Langford. So I'll go with that for now. He's a raw Langford with a shot that still needs some work.

Harrison Barnes

Stat line:
23 points, 8-for-17 shooting, 3-for-7 from three-point range, 4-for-5 free throws, nine rebounds, three assists, four turnovers, two steals.

Strengths:
Extremely athletic and long. Has a great vertical and oftentimes plays above the rim. Threw down a pair of vicious one-handed dunks in transition. Has a good stroke from all areas of the court. Showed a nice touch from the outside, including a 22-foot three that beat the first-half buzzer. Has quick hands that led to a pair of second-half steals. Unselfish player that isn't afraid to find his teammates. Strong passer in transition, with a good feel for knowing when to throw a bounce pass and when to throw a lob. When he decides to penetrate, he has a quick first step and a long stride. Nice touch when finishing inside, and he showed it on a three-point play in the first half when he had to muscle through a foul.

Weaknesses:
Oftentimes, he would blend into the game and you'd forget he was out there. Wasn't aggressive enough inside, though it was tough for him to do that for a while because he was guarding Woolridge on the perimeter. Was passive inside on rebounds, sometimes watching less talented players beat him for boards. Still can improve his offense with his back to the basket and when receiving it in the post. He played a lot of the minutes, but he looked pretty gassed for a large portion of the game. Better conditioning should improve his game in college.

Kind of reminds me of ... :
Unfair again, but I'll say Julian Wright in this context: Barnes has a high ceiling with tons of room for development. Like Wright, he has the ability to help a team in a variety of ways with his athleticism and quickness, but he was inconsistent with his play (at least on Friday).

9 comments

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OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...

Pete...thanks for the late [or early] update. We fans appreciate your hustle in getting these stories out to us. Two words sums it up "potential" and "juniors".....what I am hoping is that Royce saw how much he was going to be appreciated as a future Hawk and that Harrison saw Royce see this and also saw the same potential for himself.

Pete, also now that it appears a lock KU will be the preseason #1, am I the only one nervous about it??

Few preseason #1's go all the way [KU been there, failed that...several times]
Curse of the SI Cover Sheet
Pressure on Cole and Lance to prove staying was the right move.
Pressure on X and the new guys to warrant the attention.
Pressure on the veterans to get another ring
Pressure on Bill Self, "since he did it once, the second time will be easier"
Pressure from the media, fans, family, etc., etc., etc.

We have as good a chance to win as everyone...and probably to lose as well as everyone!!! What bothers me the most is to read fans already assuming the 2010 Championship is won and are now trying to figure out how to do it in 2012. Ohhh, this is sooooo tempting the fates!!!!

May 2, 2009 at 12:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

DSommersby (anonymous) says...

Jesse: I know you had a quick turn around for this scouting report, but I thought Barnes game reminded me a lot more of Sean Elliot who played at Arizona in college and later played with the Spurs in the NBA. Barnes did a lot of the little things like Julian Wright could do but Barnes jumper was almost picture perfect in form. Julian's outside jumper always looked somewhat herky-jerky and unnatural. I'm not knocking Julian as I loved his game and thought he might develop into a better outside shooter at KU but Barnes jumper was smooth like butter.

I agree that Royce looked a little shorter than expected. Maybe 6'1 but that is okay. Royce was smooth. I see the Langford comparison, but Royce has better handles but they are both slithery getting to the hoop. Would love to see Royce handling the rock and creating into the lane and having Harrison to dish off to. Pick your poison with these guys working together. Hope we can get them both to KU.

May 2, 2009 at 12:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jnewell (Jesse Newell) says...

DSommersby — Agreed on Barnes' shot. Not only did he make threes, he did so with great form. Above, I didn't compare him directly to Julian, but instead said they had some of the same characteristics (high ceiling, good athleticism, plenty of room for development).

As for Royce, I agree that from today that he appears to be a better ball-handler than Langford (though, judging just from today, Langford is a better shooter). The comparison isn't perfect, but I wanted to give someone similar for those who haven't seen Royce at all. Royce's body and ability to drive all the way to the rim reminds me of Langford. The comparison might not be perfect, but it's at least a start.

May 2, 2009 at 1:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

DSommersby (anonymous) says...

I wanted to add I think Barnes will play even more athletic than Sean Elliott. I know I'm jumping into the hype machine, but how about that first possession of the game for Barnes?

Gets the ball near the top of the circle, spins into the lane takes a tough shot, misses, beats two guys for a tough rebound, shows explosive spring back, goes right back up strong, and dunks in his own miss. He had some nice dunks and still looked like he was hanging back trying to allow his teammates to get their ample touches and looks. He is a total player, and I posted again as I did not want people to think he was just a shooter. He was the tallest guy on both teams but you can tell he can play inside or outside at the college level even though he will be a 6'6 two man or three man.

May 2, 2009 at 1:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Brock (anonymous) says...

I watched Harrison Barnes play four games at the Real Deal and I was thoroughly impressed with his all-around game. He did everything well and, most importantly, he made good decisions and took responsibility when facing furious competition and his club kept winning. He looks like he will be a terrific college wing player.

May 2, 2009 at 7:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

stupidmichael (anonymous) says...

"He's a raw Langford with a shot that still needs some work."

So, basically, he's like Keith Langford.

May 2, 2009 at 11:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Yahweh (anonymous) says...

Oakville,

I used to buy into that "tempting the fates" stuff and would always knock on wood, etc. Every year I did it, every year we lost. In 2008, I decided I'd finally had enough with that wussy stuff. I got on every message board I could in December and January and bragged and bragged and bragged. I told Memphis and UNC fans months in advance that our team was going to trounce theirs'. I wasn't rude IMO at least), I was just very matter of fact about it. "Sorry, man. I get what you're saying, but you're going to lose -- and lose badly."

When you know you have talent, it's not tempting the fates. It's the truth.

May 2, 2009 at 1:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jhawkerman (anonymous) says...

OakVilleJHawk
Quote
Pressure on Cole and Lance to prove staying was the right move.

I am guessing you meant to say Cole and Sherron ... or is Lance staying somewhere finally??

My only thoughts are about the journey not the Championship... I want the brass ring of course but most of all I want to enjoy the journey which should be awesome to watch.
I agree we can win or lose at the end but Oh what a great time we are going to have on the way to that game over 6 months.

Rock Chalk

May 2, 2009 at 6:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )