Aaron Harrison prepared for shot-friendly sophomore year
Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison knocks down Georgetown guard Noah Cottrill during the first half of the UK men’s basketball exhibition game against Georgetown College at Rupp Arena on Sunday, November 9, 2014 in Lexington, Ky. Kentucky leads Georgetown 60 to 24. Photo by Adam Pennavaria
November 12, 2014
By Kyle Arensdorf
In March, sophomore guard Aaron Harrison caught the national spotlight after hitting consecutive last-minute shots against Louisville, Michigan and Wisconsin, which vaulted UK into the national championship game.
But before he was the freshman who hit “the shots” in the NCAA Tournament, he was the lone shooter for a Cats team who, by all accounts, was a relatively underachieving team.
It’s a different story this year; he’s just the first shooter on the first platoon.
UK head coach John Calipari added a second shooter to the mix this year in freshman guard Devin Booker.
“He’s made me get in better shape and made sure I’m focused every play,” Harrison said. “He’s really helped me become a better player.”
While freshmen Tyler Ulis and Karl Towns Jr. were making great first impressions at the Big Blue Bahamas Tour in August, Booker admittedly struggled.
However, in two exhibition games, he has turned his shooting woes around.
“One guy that’s really improving rapidly and on a day-to-day basis is Devin Booker,” assistant coach Barry “Slice” Rohrssen said at a press conference Friday. “He’s really made some very good strides since he’s been here on campus.”
In the Cats’ Nov. 2 matchup against Pikeville, Booker scored 16 points and knocked down two of his four attempts from the 3-point line.
He followed that performance by hitting three of his first four attempts from beyond the arch against Georgetown Sunday (Booker also led the team in steals in exhibition play).
“I’m just getting adjusted to the college game,” Booker said. “It’s a lot different. Coach stresses runing the floor so that is one thing I try to focus on a lot. You know, sprinting the floor so (Ulis) can kick it up to me and we can initiate our offense like that.”
Harrison answered Sunday, however, with an impressive showing of his own.
After going 0-for-3 from 3-point range in the Pikeville matchup (and 0-for-3 in the Blue-White scrimmage), Harrison came out firing against Georgetown and tallied five threes in seven attempts, as well as five assists and a block.
When asked who he thought would make more threes this season, Harrison was coy with his answer but said “probably Devin.”
