By Kyle Arensdorf

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Coming off a National Championship run that ended in defeat against Connecticut, UK basketball’s shooting guard Aaron Harrison spent the offseason with one goal in mind: making it back to the National Championship.

He and his twin brother, Andrew Harrison, did what any athlete would do in the pursuit of greatness: hone their skills and develop their bodies. And that they did. The two enter the 2014 season 12– pounds lighter.

The 6-foot 6-inch shooting guard and his twin brother, Andrew Harrison, began the season at the Big Blue Bahamas Tour noticeably thinner, something UK head coach John Calipari noticed but in true Calipari fashion, spurned the twins achievements in the spirit of improvement.

“They’re both in the best shape, right now, that they’ve been in, but I’m telling them it’s not good enough,” Calipari said. “They’ve got to get to another level. And then it’s: we have guys that can really compete with them, which is making them better.”

One player competing with Aaron Harrison is freshman-shooting guard Devin Booker, who gives UK a second pure shooter and the rare commodity of having dual shooters on the court at any given time.

Aaron Harrison was vaulted into the national spotlight and onto the cover of Sports Illustrated after hitting last minute game winning 3-pointers in NCAA Tournament games against Louisville, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Flash forward a year and the biggest obstacle that UK faces with so many returning players is the tendency to adopt a championship-or-bust mentality and, as a result, become complacent in early-season games.

Despite six freshmen returning from a season ago (three more than any other Calipari-coached season), Aaron Harrison wasn’t concerned with his team’s mentality.

“You’ve got to have some personal motivation … and get up for big games,” Harrison said. “That’s our goal, to win a championship. I don’t know if it’s a ‘bust’ thing or not, but it’s definitely going to be disappointing if we don’t win (a championship). It’s a very long way away though, so (right now) we’re just trying to get better and (improve) as a team.”

In the meantime, Aaron Harrison and his teammates head into the season with enormous expectations, a feeling that comes with being a player in the Big Blue Nation.