Bob Lutz: Dynamic duo of Jerrick Harding, Israel Barnes once again helps 'Showtime' Southeast win (+video)

Melvin Herring makes no apologies. The Southeast coach, who grew up a fan of City League basketball in an era of entertaining stars and high-scoring games, has created Wichita’s high school version of “Showtime,” ala the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s.

“We like that style,” Herring said. “We want to put on a good show and we want the crowd to come to our games and have fun, just like we want to have fun and compete.”

The Lakers don’t have “Showtime” without Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a bunch of other high-wire, exciting players. And it wouldn’t be happening at Southeast without senior Jerrick Harding and sophomore Israel Barnes, one of the best City League duos in history.

And history is a long time.

Darnell Valentine-Calvin Alexander, Antoine Carr-Aubrey Sherrod, Ricky Ross-Mike Sims, Korleone Young-Laverne Smith, are just a few of the great pairs in City League history. Harding and Barnes, who combined for 62 points in Southeast’s 78-61 Class 6A quarterfinal win over Olathe East on Thursday, belong in the discussion.

And how.

Harding, a 6-foot guard, scored 42, just two short of the 6A tournament record set in a 1991 third-place game. The 6-4 Barnes added 20.

This is nothing new. Harding (nearly a 27-point average) and Barnes (just more than 20) have been unstoppable. They both handle the basketball well, can use either hand, make their free throws and are already beyond their years in finding ways to score.

OK, maybe Harding isn’t the best shooter in the world. But he made 14 of 23 shots Thursday, including 3 of 6 three-pointers plus all 11 of his free throws. He added eight rebounds, two assists and three steals.

The left-hander passed the previous highest-scoring southpaw in City League basketball history, Heights’ Aubrey Sherrod, for fourth place on the league’s scoring list with 1,766 points. Harding would have to average 50 in two more games to catch former Kapaun center Greg Dreiling for the No. 3 spot.

“We had two good practices before the game, so we knew we would come out strong,” Harding said. “This means a lot, being my senior year and playing the last season in the original Southeast gym. There’s a lot of history there and now we’re just trying to win state.”

Harding is not a big guard by any means. And I suppose that’s why he’s not being more heavily recruited — Coppin State and Sam Houston State are the only Division I schools so far to make offers, he said.

Count Herring as someone who believes bigger schools are missing out.

“He’s been doing the same thing night in and night out from the time he was a freshman,” Herring said. “Just look at his numbers throughout the years. They all want that big guard, but Jerrick plays big.”

Most of the calls Herring receives are from coaches asking about Barnes, who will likely have his pick of colleges. He’s 6-4, highly skilled and athletic. He’s blended perfectly with Harding, even though they both want the ball. No other Southeast player took more than four shots Thursday.

“He’s really good,” Harding said of his teammate, who played at Sunrise Christian as a freshman. “I want to see where he goes after high school.”

Barnes said he’s learned leadership from watching and playing with Harding and that he looks forward to taking on a bigger role in that area next season.

“I’ve seen all Jerrick does for his team and how much he cares for his teammates and his coaches,” Barnes said. “He has a heart for the game. It’s really hard for other teams to guard us because we can do most of the things on the court and attack the basket. We just love playing with each other, so it’s great.”

Southeast doesn’t have great size — its tallest starters are 6-4. That posed a problem against an Olathe East team with 6-9 and 6-6 inside players who combined for 34 points and 24 rebounds.

But the Hawks had the same problem every team has with Southeast — nobody capable of guarding Harding or Barnes. I guess the plan was to hope they missed shots.

They didn’t, at least not enough.

Both players play with freedom, which leads to confidence, which fosters their incredible production. Herring isn’t pulling on reins when it comes to his best players. Nor is he ignoring those supporting players who lend a hand.

He made mention of starters Jauan Manns, D’Andre Franklin and Milan Brown, recognizing their contributions are softly stated while those of Harding and Barnes are neon blasts.

“Jerrick and Israel are our power scorers, but without those other pieces we wouldn’t be successful,” Herring said.

He’s right. And one of the biggest things players like Manns, Franklin, Brown and those who come off the Southeast bench contribute is an understanding of what puts the “Show” into “Showtime” for the Buffaloes.

Harding and Barnes are the stars. Their names are up in lights.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Dynamic duo of Jerrick Harding, Israel Barnes once again helps 'Showtime' Southeast win (+video)."