Commentary

Harrison Barnes is improving ... kind of

Frosh sees numbers rise, but is it really his PG making the difference?

Originally Published: March 3, 2011
By Matt Giles | ESPN Insider

Ever want a way to compare every player in college basketball? John Hollinger has your answer. With his college player efficiency ratings (PER), we can evaluate the productivity of Division I hoopsters from Syracuse to Siena to see who's really helping his team the most.

Here's the key difference between Hollinger's NBA PER and the college PER: The vastly different schedules of college teams have an impact. To address this, we've broken down Division I schools into three sections: high majors (teams that play in a major conference or against elite nonconference programs, such as the Gonzaga Bulldogs), mid-majors (teams from conferences that are usually in the running for at least one at-large NCAA tournament bid) and low majors (teams from conferences that traditionally earn only an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament).

When Larry Drew II decided to transfer from North Carolina at the beginning of February, it was widely assumed nothing would change for the Tar Heels squad. After all, freshman Kendall Marshall had taken Drew's place in the starting lineup and, under his leadership (20.5 mpg through the first seven ACC games), UNC sprinted to a 6-1 in-conference record.


For the full breakdown on players to watch, as well as why Harrison Barnes hasn't turned the corner yet, you need to be an Insider.

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