Barnes will make his college pick early

Ames star basketball player Harrison Barnes says he will make his remaining official visits over the next month — in addition to an unofficial visit to hometown school on Nov. 6-7 — and decide on a school during the early-signing period.

Barnes released a statement Thursday night with his October schedule.

The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2010, according to several scouting services, will visit schools in this order:

— Oklahoma (Oct. 2, 3)

— UCLA (Oct. 9, 10)

— Kansas (Oct. 16, 17)

— Duke (Oct. 23, 24)

Barnes already made an official visit this month to North Carolina. He’ll make an unofficial visit to Iowa State on Nov. 6th and 7th, when the Cyclone football team plays host to Oklahoma State at Jack Trice Stadium.

Barnes initially considered delaying his decision until the spring signing period, after his senior season at Ames High is finished. The star recruit has since changed his tune.

Here is part of Barnes’ statement:

“I credit my previous unofficial visits for equipping me in making this process manageable. Initially not knowing what to expect while orchestrating the in-home and official visit schedules I didn’t want to confine myself into making a fall decision without having adequate time to process all the information.

“As a result of this portion in the recruiting process being so positive and reaffirming, I’m feeling confident what I once thought would be a regular signing-period decision now will be an early signing-period decision. It has been humbling to see the support the six programs have shown me over the last year.”

What does this all mean for Iowa State’s chances of landing the hometown kid?

Hard to say, though we do know this, the Cyclones will have the last in-person shot at convincing him.