The Harrison Barnes Diary: Official visit to Oklahoma
Words. Harrison Barnes
As he navigates through the hectic recruiting process, HighSchoolHoop’s top-rated player, Ames High (IA) swingman Harrison Barnes has agreed to chronicle his thoughts for us during each of his five official visits. First was North Carolina; now Barnes shares his experiences from his official visit to Oklahoma the weekend of Oct. 3…
I thought that, overall, the visit went extremely well. When we first got there it was really late because our flights got delayed. My family and I, Doron Lamb and Coach (Jeff) Capel and his staff all flew in to Oklahoma City. We got in at about midnight and we didn’t get situated and get to sleep in Norman, Okla., until about 2 a.m.
But the next morning we had a lot of meetings. We met with academic advisors, the President of the university, the people in the business school, we toured the campus and then we toured the business school and some of the academic facilities. Needless to say, it was a very busy morning.
After that we had lunch with the coaching staff and from there we got a little time to go to the hotel and relax before we went to watch the team practice.
It was good to see the guys in action and see Coach Capel
interact with them on the floor. From there we had a meeting with Coach Capel and talked a little bit. Then Doron and I went out with the players.
Campus was a little dead because of the Oklahoma-Miami football game, but we still found some things to do that kept us entertained.
The next day we got up early and had breakfast. Then we toured the football facilities because the current football facilities that Oklahoma has is what the basketball team will have by the time I’m a freshman. So it was cool to see all of that.
Then we got a chance to meet the football players before they left for the big game. I met Sam Bradford, Coach (Bob) Stoops and a few other guys. I really enjoyed that.
After that we got a chance to play some pickup games, and the guys that I was the most impressed with were Willie Warren, Tommy Mason-Griffin and Keith “Tiny” Gallon. He’s lost a lot of weight. He’s down to 295 now, but that’s good because I think he used to be like 40 pounds heavier. I was also impressed with Tony Crocker; that’s who I was matched up with a lot. He was getting the best of the matchup until I adjusted to the speed. The speed of the college game is so much faster than the high school game.
From there we all had dinner at Coach Capel’s house and watched the Oklahoma-Miami game, which unfortunately Oklahoma lost. Everyone was pretty down about that. Then Willie took Doron and I out to where people like to hang out late at night. That was real cool. We got a little bit of the rock-star treatment, so that was real cool. It was a social gathering called 747. Willie, who knows everyone there, introduced us around and all of the people had real high remarks for the program, let’s say that. They all were just telling us how we could be a part of history there and things like that.
The next morning I had an early morning meeting with Coach Capel. That was a little tough because we hung out so late the night before and he could clearly tell, but it was a lot of fun. After our meeting they drove me to the airport and I came on back to Ames.
I know people want me to compare the visits, but it’s a little hard to do that to be honest. When I went to North Carolina, I went to the alumni game and a football game, but at Oklahoma I didn’t go to an event so I got to just see the campus without all of the students there. I would still say that Oklahoma did a great job. I was pleased with how the visit went.
Well, I originally planned to go to UCLA this past weekend, but my mother wouldn’t have been able to attend. They wanted me to push it back so she could attend, because at this point in the process they think — as well as I think — that it’s important to have the whole family agree on the process and be comfortable about where I’m going. So we pushed it back to the Halloween weekend.
So we’ll talk about Kansas next week. I’ll be going to their Late Night event. I’ll talk to you guys then.
[...] hate me Cowboys, but I found this recruiting diary of Harrison Barnes to be rather interesting: ”But the next morning we had a lot of meetings. We met with academic advisors, the [...]
I hope he enjoyed his visit and any others he takes. At the same time, he’s gotta end up at Duke. Besides the normal things (Every game on TV, competing for NCAA every year, etc), Duke is like combining the basketball team from UCLA, Kansas or Kentucky and the academics and campus of a place like Princeton. That’s perfect for a kid like Harrison (not that I know him or have met him…). I can’t even imagine what the team will be like if we bring in Irving, Rivers and Barnes, in addition to Hairston and Thornton who have already committed, it could be the greatest recruiting class in Duke history and certainly the #1 in the country for 2010. WIth returning players in depth, plus these elite freshmen, that would be a final-four team….I look forward to watching this all unfold over the coming months…
harrison is unc bound…he’s gonna put his jersey in the sweet unc rafters with all the other greats…..
Um, there is a school in Lawrence Kansas that has a pretty decent shot to land this kid. He’s been to TWO late nights now. Probably working on how he’ll break the news to Roy and Coach K that he’s committing to KU after his visit to Allen Fieldhouse Friday night. He’s thoughtful that way.
[...] permalink Originally Posted by clone4lyfe I missed the Oklahoma write up so was just gonig by UNC, KU, & Duke. Of those 3 Duke’s had the least amount of excitement in it even though KU’s only excitement was about Self’s house. The only excitement in this one was about having steak and lobster for dinner. If you’re interested… The Harrison Barnes Diary: Official visit to Oklahoma | 2K Sports Presents High School Hoop Powered … [...]