by LARRY VAUGHT
Aaron Harrison played in 79 games in his two seasons at Kentucky. The Cats lost to Connecticut in the 2014 national championship game and were 38-0 when they lost to Wisconsin in the 2015 national semifinals. He had 979 points, 218 rebounds, 129 assists, 86 steals and 18 blocked shots in two seasons. Harrison was a career 41 percent shooter from the field and 33 percent shooter from 3. He also got to the foul line 277 times in two years and made 78.7 percent of his free throws.
Kentucky finished his freshman season 29-11 and only 12-6 in SEC play. The Cats lost three of their final four regular season games, including a 19-point blowout at Florida to end regular season play, before winning five straight games in NCAA play as a No. 8 seed.
Even though the recruitment of him and his twin brother, Andrew, created a huge buzz with Big Blue fans as did their decisions to return for a second season at UK, Aaron Harrison had not been back to Rupp Arena for a UK game since 2015 before he was in Rupp Arena to watch the Cats beat Indiana a few hours after he was in Memorial Coliseum watching UK volleyball sweep Creighton to reach the Final Four.
“The whole day was super fun, said Harrison, who also put on a youth clinic for the Police Activities League. I got to enjoy the volleyball game and then see a game in Rupp Arena for the first time since I actually went to school at UK,” Harrison said. “It was super loud in there for basketball just like the support was for volleyball going to the Final Four.”
Harrison had played at Rupp Arena in The TBT in 2024 but he was glad to be back for the renewal of the UK-Indiana rivalry won by the Cats.
“I can’t really explain the fans here, They’re just incredible and I love coming back here,” he said.
He got a rousing ovation when UK cheerleaders brought him out to be the “Y” during the second half.
“I found that out at halftime? It was kind of last minute, but it was cool. The fans here, they show us the love for sure. I wasn’t surprised they cheered. They have supported me online and supported me everywhere I have been. Everywhere I do, there’s someone from Kentucky. It’s the best fan base in the world.”
Harrison, who also was part of a toy drive for Jarrett’s Joy Cart before the volleyball and basketball games, wanted to see the UK-Indiana game to see how the team would react to recent adversity/criticism. Fans had huge expectations for the Cats his freshman season but the team just did not play that well consistently until postseason play started.
“I could really relate to this team just being in a situation where your back is against the wall. Everyone is saying that you need this, you need that, and we got to change this or change that. Everyone’s saying it and you hear it,” the former UK star said. “Everyone is saying this team could play harder. It’s interesting because I definitely know how that feels.
“I can still see us making a (postseason) run with the type of fight we had against Indiana. I think we can build off that and just keep playing with more confidence.”
