Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: Don't Call Aaron the Other Harrison

It isn't often that the seventh ranked player in the country and the number one ranked shooting guard in his class is overlooked. But this is the case with Aaron Harrison, the other half of the dynamic point guard/shooting guard duo known collectively as the Harrison Twins.

The book on Andrew is well known: he is an elite level point guard with all of the size and skills needed to succeed in the NBA and is listed in the top ten of the NBA draft for 2014. He is viewed as the more talented Harrison due to the fact that he has better ball handling skills, is a better passer and is just as good of a shooter as his shooting guard counterpart.

But this might not be the case. The word out of early practices and workouts is that Aaron is a better shooter than at first thought and that he can run the point as effectively as Andrew can and that there isn't a drop off between the two.

Gary Parrish from CBSsports.com elaborates on this point:

Kentucky's Aaron Harrison is a McDonald's All-American, a consensus top-10 national recruit and well-rounded and undeniably accomplished member of the Class of 2013, in general. But he's still forever been labeled a notch below, relatively speaking.

Is he the best Aaron in the class?

No, that's Arizona freshman Aaron Gordon.

Is he the best Harrison in the class?

No, that's his brother -- fellow Kentucky freshman Andrew Harrison.

So I imagine it must be tough on some level -- being great at something but still always hearing that you're not as good as this guy or that guy, especially when one of those guys is your twin. But Aaron Harrison -- AKA, the other Harrison -- has been so splendid in preseason workouts that at least one observer close to the program told CBSSports.com that there doesn't appear to be a gap between the brothers.

"Not at all," said the source.

So good luck, everybody else in college basketball.

Good luck indeed. They're going to need it.

Measurements:

Height - 6'5

Weight - 210

Position - Shooting Gaurd

Recruiting Break Down*- #1 Shooting Guard; #7 player overall (according to Rivals)

Strengths:

Aaron can shoot the lights out, make no mistake about it. During high school he could create space using his big body and his brother would find him open on the floor. Around the basket, mid-range jumpers, and three pointers; he can make them all. He is also extremely athletic and can run the floor with the best of them. Flying towards the rim while catching an alley-oop from his brother for a monstrous dunk wasn't out of the norm while looking at highlights. The first play of the McDonalds All American game was exactly what I just described. John Calipari also wants Andrew to become a lockdown defender because of his immense size advantage for a guard.

Weaknesses:

Like Andrew, there were rumors swirling about Aaron's on court attitude and his lack of wanting to work with his teammates. These rumors continue to be debunked and ESPN's Seth Greenberg is the latest to weigh in on the "bad attitude" myth:

The Harrison twins were very different than I expected. Despite their reputation of being aloof, I found them to be engaged and connected to their teammates. They were very much part of the group. I think oftentimes they are prejudged by their body language as opposed to their actions.

Aaron is viewed as a lesser ball handler than Andrew, but the more I read the more I find that this also is a complete myth.

Coach Calipari On Aaron Harrison:

"Aaron is more of a scoring guard who can make shots and make plays at the rim. He can also play some point in a pinch. Like his brother, Andrew, he has the ability to physically dominate the opponent."

2013 Expectations:

Aaron Harrison is another player that I think comes in as an automatic starter. His size and skill set are hard to game plan against for opposing coaches. While he may not be the best shooter three point shooter on the team (James Young is emerging as the individual with that distinction), Aaron may be the best all-around shooter on the team.

He is also a scoring machine. While his averages may not be extremely impressive due to the fact that there are so many weapons on the team, there will be games when we look back at the box score and see that Aaron absolutely filled up the scoring column. His versatility with the ball coupled with teams scheming against Kentucky's interior will open up the rim (near and around the perimeter) for him to do damage.

His defense, along with his brother's, will be another major advantage for the ‘Cats. Not a lot of teams will be able to throw out two guards over six feet tall and over 200 pounds to defend the perimeter.

Aaron Harrison won't be overshadowed by his brother once the season begins.

2012/2013 Recruit Mix Tape:

In the Next Preview: James Young is the X Factor