BENTON — Since he knew most of the 6,000 fans at the Marshall County Hoop Fest on Friday night came to see him and his twin brother play, Aaron Harrison didn’t want to disappoint anyone.
“I really wanted to impress the Kentucky fans really and give them a good show. I¿know some drove a long way to come see me play and I¿just wanted to give them a good show and give them their money’s worth,” Aaron Harrison said after Travis (Texas) edged Ballard 78-76.
Andrew Harrison had 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and one blocked shot — and only three turnovers against Ballard’s pressure — in 31 minutes. Aaron Harrison had 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block — and just two turnovers. The two guards also both had times where they guarded Ballard junior guard Quentin Snider, a Louisville commit who scored 28 points.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Aaron Harrison said. “It was a good experience for the team. Down the road, we will have some rough road games, so this really helped prepare us.”
“It was crazy. I have never really done anything like this before or seen anything like this before. It was fun. It was good for our team to play under pressure and play in a close game,” Andrew Harrison said. “It (the atmosphere) was more than I thought definitely. I¿didn’t play that well, but my team stepped up. Aaron stepped up.¿Just glad we won. We have played in gyms full of people before, but just the fact a lot of people were rooting for us was nice for a change.”
Not everyone was rooting for the twins as several Ballard fans were very anti-Harrisons and one fan even briefly encountered them as they were trying to leave the floor after the game.
“It definitely gave us some motivation at the end. I guess it was maybe a good thing for us,” Aaron Harrison said. “They are a pretty good team.¿I think our team could have played better defense, but they are a pretty good team. Snider is pretty good. I didn’t know much about him before, but he is good and really a smart player. I didn’t know he was a Louisville player. No trash talk, though, was going on.”
Andrew Harrison said he did know Snider was a Louisville commit and had seen him play at a camp before.
“He is a pretty good player, so we were just out there battling,” he said. “My dad instilled mental toughness in us. He said some crazy stuff to us when he was coaching us (in AAU). I¿can handle anything.¿On the court, you just have to focus on winning and doing what you can for the team. Teams try to be physical but you have to be tough and get back up. It’s part of the game.”
What isn’t always part of the game is the rock star like treatment the Harrisons received. An older fan asked the brothers to sign his forehead after their Friday morning practice. They were swamped with autograph and picture requests as they sat in the stands watching another game before they played.
“It was kind of irritating, but it comes with the territory,” Andrew Harrison said.
“It definitely is a different world. Where I go to school,¿I have gone my whole life so nobody really treats me different or looks at me,” Aaron Harrison said. “It is not really a weird thing (with the attention). It is really different. I am sure it is something that you have to get used to. It was pretty tough, but it was fun. Somebody helped me off the court after the game. Without him, I would still be out there signing autographs probably.”
Aaron Harrison was not surprised his brother went 8-for-10 at the foul line in the fourth quarter when the game was being decided and seemed to get to the basket at will.
“Definitely when he is motivated, he is unstoppable. I have never seen anyone stop him from getting where he wants to go on the court and he’s always the most dominant person on the court,” Aaron Harrison said.
“I love basketball. I¿love to play. I love pressure. I love that moment. That’s why I love the game is because of the pressure,” Andrew Harrison said. “Just trying to prove you are the best every time that you step on the court and just trying to get better with your teammates is what motivates me.
“My brother is a great player and makes me look good, so I don’t really have to do too much work. I am disappointed I missed those last two free throws. Other than that, I felt I played decent in this game. But it was fun and Ballard is a great team.”
Kentucky could well be a great team next year, too, based on the recruiting class — Marcus Lee, James Young and Derek Willis — the Harrisons are already a part of. However, one of UK’s remaining targets is Huntington (W.Va.) Prep standout Andrew Wiggins, who had 28 points and 17 rebounds in an earlier game Friday.
“He is probably one of the most athletic people I have ever seen in my life,” Aaron Harrison said. “We could definitely have a chance to win a national championship (with him) and be really successful and reach the level that we want to reach. Me and Andrew, we love playing with great players, so we just want to win, and we’ll do anything to win. If Andrew (Wiggins) is the person that coach (John) Calipari thinks we need on the team to win, that’s who I want to have.”
“I watched him. He is very athletic. He plays great defense,” Andrew Harrison said of Wiggins. “He plays as hard as he can. Great rebounder and everything. He is a great player. It was my first time to see him in person. Right now we have a surplus amount of talent, so we have great talent. But Andrew would be great to have at Kentucky. He’d be a great teammate and be great to play with.”
What about Julius Randle, another top 10 player and a Texas high school standout who is a UK¿target?
“Me and Julius are good friends. Him and Andrew text back and forth. That’s not true at all (about us not being friends),” Aaron Harrison said. “I haven’t really talked to him about coming to Kentucky. I don’t like to pressure people because I don’t like people to do it to me.”
“I really wanted to impress the Kentucky fans really and give them a good show. I¿know some drove a long way to come see me play and I¿just wanted to give them a good show and give them their money’s worth,” Aaron Harrison said after Travis (Texas) edged Ballard 78-76.
Andrew Harrison had 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and one blocked shot — and only three turnovers against Ballard’s pressure — in 31 minutes. Aaron Harrison had 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block — and just two turnovers. The two guards also both had times where they guarded Ballard junior guard Quentin Snider, a Louisville commit who scored 28 points.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Aaron Harrison said. “It was a good experience for the team. Down the road, we will have some rough road games, so this really helped prepare us.”
“It was crazy. I have never really done anything like this before or seen anything like this before. It was fun. It was good for our team to play under pressure and play in a close game,” Andrew Harrison said. “It (the atmosphere) was more than I thought definitely. I¿didn’t play that well, but my team stepped up. Aaron stepped up.¿Just glad we won. We have played in gyms full of people before, but just the fact a lot of people were rooting for us was nice for a change.”
Not everyone was rooting for the twins as several Ballard fans were very anti-Harrisons and one fan even briefly encountered them as they were trying to leave the floor after the game.
“It definitely gave us some motivation at the end. I guess it was maybe a good thing for us,” Aaron Harrison said. “They are a pretty good team.¿I think our team could have played better defense, but they are a pretty good team. Snider is pretty good. I didn’t know much about him before, but he is good and really a smart player. I didn’t know he was a Louisville player. No trash talk, though, was going on.”
Andrew Harrison said he did know Snider was a Louisville commit and had seen him play at a camp before.
“He is a pretty good player, so we were just out there battling,” he said. “My dad instilled mental toughness in us. He said some crazy stuff to us when he was coaching us (in AAU). I¿can handle anything.¿On the court, you just have to focus on winning and doing what you can for the team. Teams try to be physical but you have to be tough and get back up. It’s part of the game.”
What isn’t always part of the game is the rock star like treatment the Harrisons received. An older fan asked the brothers to sign his forehead after their Friday morning practice. They were swamped with autograph and picture requests as they sat in the stands watching another game before they played.
“It was kind of irritating, but it comes with the territory,” Andrew Harrison said.
“It definitely is a different world. Where I go to school,¿I have gone my whole life so nobody really treats me different or looks at me,” Aaron Harrison said. “It is not really a weird thing (with the attention). It is really different. I am sure it is something that you have to get used to. It was pretty tough, but it was fun. Somebody helped me off the court after the game. Without him, I would still be out there signing autographs probably.”
Aaron Harrison was not surprised his brother went 8-for-10 at the foul line in the fourth quarter when the game was being decided and seemed to get to the basket at will.
“Definitely when he is motivated, he is unstoppable. I have never seen anyone stop him from getting where he wants to go on the court and he’s always the most dominant person on the court,” Aaron Harrison said.
“I love basketball. I¿love to play. I love pressure. I love that moment. That’s why I love the game is because of the pressure,” Andrew Harrison said. “Just trying to prove you are the best every time that you step on the court and just trying to get better with your teammates is what motivates me.
“My brother is a great player and makes me look good, so I don’t really have to do too much work. I am disappointed I missed those last two free throws. Other than that, I felt I played decent in this game. But it was fun and Ballard is a great team.”
Kentucky could well be a great team next year, too, based on the recruiting class — Marcus Lee, James Young and Derek Willis — the Harrisons are already a part of. However, one of UK’s remaining targets is Huntington (W.Va.) Prep standout Andrew Wiggins, who had 28 points and 17 rebounds in an earlier game Friday.
“He is probably one of the most athletic people I have ever seen in my life,” Aaron Harrison said. “We could definitely have a chance to win a national championship (with him) and be really successful and reach the level that we want to reach. Me and Andrew, we love playing with great players, so we just want to win, and we’ll do anything to win. If Andrew (Wiggins) is the person that coach (John) Calipari thinks we need on the team to win, that’s who I want to have.”
“I watched him. He is very athletic. He plays great defense,” Andrew Harrison said of Wiggins. “He plays as hard as he can. Great rebounder and everything. He is a great player. It was my first time to see him in person. Right now we have a surplus amount of talent, so we have great talent. But Andrew would be great to have at Kentucky. He’d be a great teammate and be great to play with.”
What about Julius Randle, another top 10 player and a Texas high school standout who is a UK¿target?
“Me and Julius are good friends. Him and Andrew text back and forth. That’s not true at all (about us not being friends),” Aaron Harrison said. “I haven’t really talked to him about coming to Kentucky. I don’t like to pressure people because I don’t like people to do it to me.”
