The undefeated Kentucky Wildcats played against one of the better teams in the SEC on Tuesday night, Georgia, and they were tested.
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The score was 62-56 with Georgia leading in the second half with 4:50 remaining. Willie Cauley-Stein had just recorded a steal, and then threw it to point guard Andrew Harrison for the outlet pass.
Instantly, Harrison found his brother Aaron Harrison streaking down the sideline, and threw him the long advance pass. Aaron caught the basketball, took one dribble, and layed the basketball up with two hands, cradling it in mid-air like the basketball was a newborn baby.
In the process Harrison was also fouled by Georgia’s Kenny Gaines which gave him the opportunity to score have a possible extra point. Harrison didn’t convert on the opportunity as the end result was a missed free throw. However, Cauley-Stein got the offensive rebound on the miss, which he managed to convert into two points, leaving the score at 62-60.
On the very next possession for Kentucky they started to run a play in its half-court offense and Tyler Ulis got the basketball to Harrison. As Harrison aggressively drove to the basket on Gaines, he used a pump fake to get Gaines in the air, and then he sank the jump shot as Gaines attempted to recover. The game was tied at 62 and Kentucky would never trail from that moment on.
Georgia was looking for a signature win that would cement their status in the 2015 NCAA tournament and they played extremely well. Georgia was leading against No. 1 Kentucky and had them down by as many as nine points late in the second half. Nevertheless, it didn’t matter because Kentucky didn’t look any bit flustered, worried, or scared about their situation.
Instead of being worried about their problems Kentucky rallied together and played stronger, and the person that helped fuel their run was their shooting guard, Aaron Harrison.
Pick one player in college basketball who you would pick to take the last shot of a basketball game.
There are a multitude of great players such as Iowa State’s Georges Niang, Duke’s Tyus Jones, and Virginia’s London Perrantes but if the answer wasn’t Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison then there’s something wrong. There isn’t any player in college basketball who’s more clutch than the 6’6″, 212-pound shooting guard from Richmond, Texas.
In such a short amount of time he’s become Kentucky’s go-to player in the clutch and the way he’s delivered for them in times of need it’s expected.
We saw it time and time again last season in the 2014 NCAA tournament as Harrison hit a number of big shots against Louisville, Michigan, and Wisconsin to help Kentucky play in their 12th national championship game.
Now the 2015 NCAA tournament is right around the corner, and Harrison has started playing like he’s ready to once again leave his mark. In his last five games he’s managed to crack double figures three times.
Playing on a team like Kentucky where the leading scorer only averages 11.3 points a game, it’s a big accomplishment. In fact the person that’s leading the No. 1 team in college basketball in scoring is Harrison himself.
Because Harrison looks like he’s poised to take the next step in his game, this young Kentucky team is going to have to rely on his experience in the NCAA Tournament because Kentucky will come across a number of challenges before the year is completed.
After the late comeback victory against Georgia, Kentucky’s head coach John Calipari said this:
“You have kids here who have a will to win, they believe they’re going to win, and they made the plays they needed to make.”
We can make an assumption that Calipari wasn’t talking about Harrison when he said those words, but to think that would be foolish.
Harrison is getting ready to lead Kentucky to another national championship appearance and as long as he’s on their team it’ll be hard to bet against them.
What other player in college basketball would anyone rather have shooting for a game winner?
Next: SEC: When Did Jarell Martin Become LSU's Best Player?
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