The two took on markedly different roles in college: McDermott is Creighton's hub, while Barnes shares top billing at North Carolina with fellow high school All-Americans such as ACC player of the year Tyler Zeller. And it's pretty cool to see how far he's come." … He was just a great leader all the way through, throughout high school. "So that's something our whole team kind of looked up to him. "I just remember going to our senior year, he would be at the gym at probably 6 a.m., lifting and then getting shots up afterwards," McDermott said of Barnes. McDermott also transported Barnes to choir and band practices – Barnes plays saxophone. So Barnes spent many a day riding shotgun in McDermott's Nissan Murano, often traveling to Iowa State for pickup games against the college crew. McDermott, however, had one thing Barnes did not: a driver's license. McDermott was undersized, an intriguing prospect who his father, then at Iowa State, declined to recruit. Barnes was the national player of the year, a prospect who attracted the college game's marquee coaches to Ames. In the state title victory, McDermott (21) and Barnes (19) scored 40 of the team's 47 points.īut the pecking order was clear. As seniors, Barnes averaged 27.1 points and 10.4 rebounds, McDermott 20.1 and 7.8. "And I really believe that Doug saw in Harrison a guy that he wanted to emulate and saw the improvement and said, 'You know what? I think that I now know what it takes.' He could listen to his dad and his high school coach, but when you see it in Harrison, the improvement he made each year of high school because of his work ethic, it was certainly impactful for Doug."īarnes and McDermott, who text and speak often, led Ames to consecutive state championships and a 53-game winning streak their final two seasons. And when other high school-aged students were going to movies and going to football games and going to the prom, Harrison was working out. "Because Doug saw in Harrison a guy with an unbelievable work ethic.
"Harrison's responsible for a lot of Doug's development," Greg McDermott, Doug's father and Creighton's coach, said Saturday. It's just that any chance eighth-seeded Creighton has against the Midwest Regional's top seed likely hinges on Doug McDermott, Barnes' former teammate at Ames (Iowa) High School.Ī sophomore like Barnes, McDermott is a first-team All-American, and the nation's No. Not to suggest that Barnes, a first-team All-ACC forward, will play poorly against the Bluejays.
If Creighton upsets North Carolina in the NCAA tournament Sunday, chances are Harrison Barnes will be to blame.