North Carolina Tar Heels: Barnes to Olympics?
North Carolina Tar Heels former player Harrison Barnes is reported to be the last man to make the Team USA Basketball roster.
The North Carolina Tar Heels had some good news last week. First Brice Johnson went in the first round of the NBA Draft. Then Marcus Paige went in the second round. The news did not stop there as there was another team picking members last week as well.
That would be the US Olympic team. The team has witnessed a number of players back out of going to Brazil and playing for the gold. Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, John Wall, Bradley Beal, and others are all staying at home. Some are injured, others may just not have wanted to take the risk.
The team still managed to assemble a quality roster behind Kevin Durant and others. The last two spots were decided on Saturday according to reports from Matt Moore of CBS Sports. One addition was Duke’s Kyrie Irving. That was more or less expected. With Kyle Lowry, Irving becomes one of two point guards on the squad.
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The last addition was Harrison Barnes. Barnes is a free agent forward who had been playing for the Golden State Warriors. His NBA Finals performance was up and down. Yet he had enough game to be the final pick over more established players.
Why Barnes? Barnes can shoot and play defense. He also can be used at power forward in small ball lineups. He essentially offers versatility to the roster and that was something that Coach Mike Krzyzewski is looking for.
Barnes might be able to raise his free agent profile. He currently could be looking at a big contract, but a little boost couldn’t hurt.
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The 2016 Olympic Team roster:
Kevin Durant
Kyle Lowry
Demar DeRozan
Kyrie Irving
Harrison Barnes
Barnes will get to play with current teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The three Golden State Warriors mark the most players from any one team. Barnes is the only Tar Heel and Irving is the only Blue Devil.