Offseason has been "great" for Andrew Harrison

By: LARRY VAUGHT



He thought he was ready to be a big-time player immediately when he got to Kentucky last August. However, Andrew Harrison learned he was wrong.

He finished the season averaging 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game — all good numbers, but not what was expected from the nation’s top-ranked point guard in the 2013 recruiting class who was supposed to carry on the tradition of John Calipari point guards such as Tyreke Evans, Derrick Rose, John Wall and Brandon Knight.

“The offseason has been great. I have just been trying to improve every day, stay in the gym and get my body right,” Harrison said. “I improved my body and my conditioning. It’s mental, too. You just have to fight through it.

“I think I just realized how hard I had to work last year, and now I am ready for it. I just think my body was a little beat up last year at the beginning of the season, and I had to play some catch-up all season.”

He still started 39 of 40 games and had 159 assists, the third-best total for any Kentucky freshman. His ball-handling was sometimes shaky during the Wildcats’ up-and-down season, but he had three or more assists in seven of their final nine games. He was at his best in the NCAA tournament with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in the national title game loss to Connecticut to 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists in the win over Louisville to 20 points and three assists against Wichita State.

He played well in Kentucky’s exhibition trip to the Bahamas — he had 31 assists and just 12 turnovers and went 13 for 15 at the foul line — and also benefited from being in Lexington all summer to work out with teammates after spending the previous summer in Texas before coming to Kentucky just before school started.

“It is somewhat of a big deal that I was here all summer. I have established myself as a leader, I think. I am just ready to lead people,” Harrison said.
Harrison says he’s worked to improve his mid-range game as well as how he plays the pick-and-roll.

“Making sure I have patience coming off the pick-and-roll. Make sure I don’t relax on defense. I have worked on a lot,” Harrison said.

That includes better body language and not getting down on himself for every mistake he makes. He smiled a lot more during the exhibition games and often was the first player off the bench cheering for teammates.

“I try to smile more, I guess. My mom tells me that all the time. You are in the middle of a game, you are not focused on smiling,” he said. “Standing and cheering for teammates, that is part of leadership I was trying to have. I like to see my teammates do well, so I was happy for them.”

He also knows what it is like to go through a year under constant scrutiny.

“It is different. You have been through it before and I know what to focus on. It’s basketball. Nothing else matters. What anyone says doesn’t matter,” Harrison said.
Harrison knows some are already questioning whether he can lead Kentucky to a title even though he got the Cats to the national championship game last year.

“I have no idea why people think that. Coach told me that I don’t have the luxury of having a bad game. I guess that is it,” he said.

Or the expectations placed on Calipari’s point guards?

“I have no idea. Maybe it is all of that,” Harrison said. “Yeah, it is frustrating, but you get used to it. You can’t really worry about what people say about you. That is people that don’t really know what they are talking about.

“You have to be mentally strong. Just worry about teammates and focus on them and not anyone else.”

His father helps with that strong mental approach and toughness.

“He doesn’t hold back anything with us. That is what makes us as tough mentally I guess as I am. So that has helped me,” he said.

His mother has a different role.

“She is very religious. She has always been there. She was always home taking care of us. I can’t even put it into words. I talk to her a lot. With her, I talk more about life than basketball,” Harrison said. “I am not sure she enjoys watching us play as much as he does. He knows basketball, and he knows the game. My mom really doesn’t know the game. She just knows who is winning and stuff like that. But that’s what I love about her.”

Harrison feels his relationship with Calipari has changed since he got to Kentucky.

“I think it has changed a lot. I just know what he wants from me now and he expects me to be the leader of this team and that’s what I am going to do,” Harrison said. “I have to do it on and off the court. Set an example for younger guys and even guys older than me. I feel like I make good decisions, so it is not that hard.”

Everything he’s doing, though, is again geared to winning the title that Kentucky barely missed last year.

“It would be great to win. That is why I came back to school for. It would mean everything to me,” Harrison said. “I still think about last year’s game (with Connecticut) sometimes. Just use it as motivation and move on now. That’s all I can do.”

Relaxing

It’s not easy for Harrison to find a way to relax in Lexington because of his celebrity status as a Kentucky basketball player.

“Maybe go to a movie, but it’s hard not to take pictures or stuff with fans,” he said.

“You can’t really go out to eat, but you get used to it. Same with movies and other stuff.

“It is not that bad with the students and stuff. It’s just the big fans around Lexington. At the same time, it is an honor that they love you so much, but the students let you just be a student, and I appreciate that.”