The University of Kentucky has long been a hotbed for the development of NBA talent, but one of its biggest stars, despite his early success as a recruit, did not create much of his own name in the association.
The University of Kentucky boasts eight NCAA championships. Under legendary coaches such as John Calipari, Rick Pitino and Tabby Smith, the Wildcats are there as premier schools for future NBA players, with Duke, Kansas and UCLA.
Despite not winning titles in 2014 and 2015, the Wildcats boasted 11 NBA players over the last two years. Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker scored headlines for the ’15 team, while Twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison were two of the more highly regarded recruits.
Despite building a national team in high school and being the fifth best prospect to come out of high school, Aaron Harrison was not drafted in 2015 and had a very unforgettable NBA career, and he knew he wouldn’t go early.
Between towns, Willie Cowley Stein, Trey Lyles, Andrew and Aaron Harrison were in the starting lineup, with points and shots being difficult to ride the 2015 Kentucky Wildcats. Add a booker that comes out of the bench. It’s strange that Harrison averages 11 points per game in his second and final season.
After losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four, Aaron declared the 2015 NBA draft and signed the Charlotte Hornets as an undrafted free agent.
He spent part of two seasons with Charlotte after nine games against the Dallas Mavericks before finishing his career. He claims that unlike his college teammates, he was not given the opportunity to blossom in the NBA.
“My coach (Steve Clifford) actually told me one game, we were playing the Raptors, I think it was probably the 10th or 11th game of the year,” he recalled.
“I wasn’t playing, so I sent the raptors and Derozan was on the team. He said, “It’s better to be ready tonight, maybe I have to protect Derozan so you can start.”
Up until that point, Harrison had only played three minutes that season, but the Hornets were still rebuilding.
“This is like before I played,” Harrison continued. “I’m not spinning at all, but he told me this, so I’m fine. But I’m ready, I’m a hype. I called my pop and my pop flew, so I’m a hype.
Harrison played only five games during the 2016-17 season with the Hornets before being cut.
After three forgotten NBA seasons, Harrison signed with Galatasaray of Istanbul. He played in Türkiye, Greece, Slovenia, Puerto Rico, Portugal and Mexico.
In a competitive European league, he averaged 11.2 points and 2.4 rebounds, shooting 36.4% from the deep.
He was far from the stars, but after being respected in Europe, he never attempted an NBA comeback and didn’t understand how Clifford and the Hornets treated him during their game against the Raptors.
“He looked like I was dead in my face. “So I’m okay, cool, I’m like I’m trying to play. I didn’t play at all and I’m trying to cut. I felt like they were trying to cut me.”
Harrison was far from a college star, but NBA standouts like Booker, DeAndre Jordan, Miles Turner and Zach Lavine also had impressive NCAA careers but continued to thrive.