This is a compendium of stories about Harrison Barnes‘s homecoming back to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, where he won two consecutive state championships in 2009 and 2010. The Golden State Warriors face the Denver Nuggets tonight in Preseason Game 4.
Barnes’s return was met with some reasonable fanfare. Click on the arrows to the left and right of the photo gallery above.
Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register:
“To actually be able to come back to Iowa, that’s huge,” Barnes said. “Especially playing in an arena where obviously I had a lot of great memories.”
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The Well will always hold a special place in Barnes’ heart.
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It was here that Ames natives Barnes and Doug McDermott — then another star in the making — completed back-to-back undefeated seasons for the Little Cyclones.
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But before McDermott was a three-time first-team all-American with Creighton (he is now a rookie with the Chicago Bulls), Barnes was the center of attention.
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The North Carolina recruit was one of the most sought-after high school players in the nation. In his final game at Wells Fargo, he delivered multiple high-flying, crowd-pleasing dunks in an unforgettable, 19-point performance before more than 12,000 paid fans.
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“Didn’t think we’d get to see him back to play in Iowa again,” Ames coach Vance Downs said. “Thankfully it worked out.”
Iowa Events Center general manager Chris Connolly said he expects more than 10,000 fans to be on hand when Des Moines hosts its first NBA preseason game since the Milwaukee Bucks took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 21, 1997 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Connolly said he has his sights set on bringing an NHL preseason game involving the Minnesota Wild to Wells Fargo Arena in the future. The Iowa Wild, who play at Wells Fargo Arena, are Minnesota’s American Hockey League affiliate. He hasn’t ruled out another NBA preseason game, either. “Ten thousand’s a real good number and it makes us all optimistic moving forward to do it again,” Connolly said.
Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune:
“Honestly, it means a lot,” Barnes said of the chance to play a professional game in his home state.
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“I usually have a lot of family when I go to Minnesota, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indiana, but to actually be able to come back to Iowa, that’s huge, especially being able to play in an arena where I also have a lot of good memories. My Ames team was able to win state championships there.
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“It was a big moment for me just to grow as a basketball player.”
Barnes will get the start ahead of Andre Iguodala. Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group:
Those fans will be treated to Barnes being in the lineup against Denver. The game will be played about half an hour from his hometown at Wells Fargo Arena, where he won back-to-back state championships for Ames High, but it’s significant for the forward that those aren’t the only reasons he’ll be starting.
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“That would not be good form if I didn’t for sure, but I would start him anyway just because I want to get a look at these particular lineups that we saw the other night,” coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday.
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area:
Barnes grew up in Ames, Iowa, maybe a half-hour drive away from Des Moines. He enjoyed a storied career at Ames High, leading the Little Cyclones to consecutive state championships and a 53-game win streak.
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One of his teammates at Ames, Doug McDermott, was a first-round pick in the 2014 draft and now plays for the Bulls.
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Folks in Iowa wanted Barnes to “stay home” and go to Iowa State – which he might have, if he had come along four or five years later.
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“I hear it, still, when I go back,” Barnes said. “They’re never going to let that go. It’s something you always have to with.
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“But people understand. At the time, Iowa State wasn’t where it is now. They weren’t going to the tournament. They weren’t having big upsets. It was a team that was struggling to get there. That’s why I made my decision to go to North Carolina.”
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle got some feedback from one of Barnes’s closest teammates, Andrew Bogut:
“He was a young player, and it was tough for him to deal with mentally,” center Andrew Bogut said. “He had a heck of a rookie year, and they brought in a former All-Star (Andre Iguodala) to take his position. He was definitely frustrated by it, but he didn’t stop working.
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“Overthinking in this league can kill you. He knows what it takes to be great, and he’s working at it, but he overstresses things. Sometimes you can’t think. You just have to play.”
Warriors advisor Jerry West also chimed in in the Simmons article: “I just think this is going to be a breakout season for him. … I think this summer he realized, ‘I have to be better,’ and he’s worked his fanny off all summer.”
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