Andrew and Aaron Harrison have decided to forgo their final two years of eligibility with the Kentucky Wildcats to pursue their dreams of playing in the NBA.
The Harrison brothers entered their college careers as heralded recruits out of Travis High School in Texas. As a package deal, they decided to become the next big name guards under coach John Calipari. They were part of one of the greatest recruiting classes ever assembled according to rankings.
Their freshman year at Kentucky was a rocky one. As a fan, you never knew which player would show up....the McDonalds All-American or the freshman. As the year went on, they showed that under Calipari, great strides can be made. By tournament time they were ready to showcase their new talents and they carried the Wildcats to the National Championship game. Especially with the help of Aaron Harrison, who was a household name for hitting three game winning 3s on their run.
Going against what their own coach thought would happen, they decided to return to Lexington for a Sophmore season with the Wildcats. They took over from the beginning of the year in the Bahamas and showed us all a great transformation in their bodies and their attitudes. They were lean and confident.
Aaron and Andrew helped the 2014-2015 Kentucky Wildcats start 38-0, which is a college basketball record, and the first time anyone has made it to that mark in a single season.
In their time at UK, the Harrisons made two Final Four's and earned many individual accolades along the way. Now they are ready for the next step. The Harrison's will take a stab at the draft even though they are not particularly highly ranked on the mock boards. Both are shown as 2nd Rounders\Undrafted.
According to sources, Andrew should get drafted somewhere between 35-45th, but Aaron, behind up-and-down shooting this season (and really, both seasons) isn't even mentioned on some boards at all.
John Calipari seems to disagree with Chad Ford and the other mock draft gurus. He stated that he believes both Aaron and Andrew could and may possibly be drafted in the first round. A couple NBA GM's chimed in and said, "There is no way."
It's fair to say that both have the size to be on an NBA roster, the real question is with their athleticism and shooting abilities.
As for the Kentucky Wildcats, they will hold a press conference tomorrow at 2:30 EST for all players that have made their decisions to announce publicly. We expect to see Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Karl Anthony-Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles. The three players on the fence would be Devin Booker, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.
Best of luck to the Harrison twins!