UNC Basketball Alumni: Harrison Barnes to join Kings in bubble

Former UNC Basketball standout Harrison Barnes has made it to Orlando after clearing protocol following his positive coronavirus test

The return of basketball to our TV’s isn’t far off as the NBA has already begun playing scrimmages ahead of their restart for the 2019-20 season at the end of the month. And soon, one former UNC Basketball standout will be back on the court as well.

Former Tar Heel Harrison Barnes has been cleared to join the Sacramento Kings in the NBA’s bubble as they get set for games to begin on July 30th.

Barnes revealed a few weeks back that he tested positive for COVID-19 and would not be joining his team right away. But now Barnes has cleared the Coronavirus protocol set by the league and was on a plane Friday to join his team in Orlando.

While this is certainly good news for the Kings, Barnes won’t be able to hop on the court just yet and will have to wait. The protocol will require Barnes to self-quarantine for a bit and then produce two negative coronavirus tests before he can begin practicing with his team.

It’s expected that Barnes get on the court sometime next week.

The Kings enter this restart 3.5 games out of a playoff spot with just 8 games to play. They will need to get hot and pretty much win out or lose only one or two games to have a shot.  Still, for a young team like Sacramento just having the chance to play again and get a shot to make it is huge.

Barnes was averaging 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the Kings before the league suspended games due to the pandemic.

For more on former UNC Basketball alumni, please check back with Keeping It Heel.