Having trouble getting registered or subscribing? Email us at info@kysportsreport.com or Private Message CitizenBBN and we'll get you set up!

  • Andrew Harrison: Have to prove yourself in college

    By: LARRY VAUGHT




    CHARLOTTE — Andrew Harrison says being a point guard in college is nothing like being a point guard in high school.

    “In college, you can close to not being the oldest guy on the team,” said Andrew Harrison here Wednesday during the Southeastern Conference Media Day. “You have got to prove yourself and earn their respect and make them want to follow you.

    “It’s not awkward. You just have to prove yourself daily and lead by example.”

    Harrison is not always the most vocal player on UK’s team, but he says he is plenty vocal enough to be the leader coach John Calipari wants.

    “You can’t just say it and not do it,” he said. “If you see a player not working hard, you have got to be there when he needs you.”

    He also said he learned last year not to let off-court distractions — or the clutter as Calipari calls it — bother you.

    “You just have to play for yourself and your team. You cannot listen to what is going on outside the locker room,” Harrison, who was named to the all-SEC preseason second team Wednesday, said.

    Part of that leadership included him being at the SEC Media Days along with his brother, Aaron, who was named the conference preseason player of the year.

    “It is a good experience to be here,” he said. “Once you have been here (at Kentucky) a year, you have a lot of the same questions and I am glad to talk about my new teammates.”

    Harrison goes into this year with questions about his play. He was often criticized last year for “bad body language” and not being a shutdown defender. Both are reasons he opted to stay at UK for his sophomore season rather than enter the NBA draft.

    “He’s been really good. He’s taking care of his body. He’s playing with great pace. Even Tyler (Ulis) will tell you – Tyler will say, ‘You don’t realize how strong he is. I’ve played against all of them. He is strong.’ He’s a big point guard and great attitude about his team,” Calipari said when asked about Harrison’s summer improvement.

    But the coach is most pleased with how his leadership skills have progressed.

    “You start by leading yourself. You’ve got to be able to lead you. That means you’ve got to get yourself right. You’ve got to get your body right. You’ve got to be in great condition. You’ve got to get your skills right,” Calipari said. “People have to have confidence in you and then you’ve got to start caring about everyone else and not worry about how you’re playing, which is body language and all the other stuff, so you look at him.

    “I’ve had all the people at the (NBA) combine came up to me and said, ‘I can’t believe he’s the same kid. Can’t believe his body. Can’t believe his body language on the court. Looking at his skill and speed and saying wow.’ So it starts with you’ve got to lead yourself first and then from there you’ve got to be about everybody else. You don’t have to be ‘rah-rah.’ They just have to know you care. He’s worried about me. He’s caring about me. And he’s doing it.

    “He’s doing a good job. Every day he’s got the little water bug (Ulis) up in his knee, kneecaps, trying to ... and flying up the court, which means I got to defend, putting them in pick-and-rolls. I’ve got to play that.”

    More importantly to Calipari, Harrison is now dragging players with him.

    “Three days ago, I put him with a group that he would struggle with, and as he dragged that team, he gave his team a chance to win. They missed every shot — not him. His team missed every single shot,” the UK coach said. “And at first he kept getting upset, and I kept stopping him and saying, ‘It doesn’t matter. You’re not making every shot.’

    “All of a sudden, by the end, they’re down a bucket or two and he gave his team a chance. Yesterday I put him with the veterans. So I put the veterans against the rookies yesterday and that was competitive, and now he had to do something different. He’s doing good.”

    Calipari even compared Harrison to Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr.

    “He (Starr) led, but there were other guys on that team that led too. He just did his job. He did what he was supposed to do. He was efficient as a player. He didn’t do it in a showboaty way. He didn’t do it verbally. He just did it and he led in his own way, but he wasn’t the only leader on that team,” Calipari said.

    “And I think that’s going to be the case here. I’m trying to teach all 12 of these guys what it means to lead because at some point, they may be thrown in a situation where they have to lead a group.”
  • KSR Twitter Feed