Harrellson shines in Kentucky's big win

LOUISVILLE, KY.

This is how many points Josh Harrellson scored when his University of Kentucky team defeated Louisville last season: Zero.

That’s because he played zero minutes.

Harrellson did what he was supposed to do that day in Rupp Arena — cheer for DeMarcus Cousins, encourage Patrick Patterson, try not to annoy John Calipari.

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The next time you’re tempted to describe Calipari’s team as a collection of guys passing through Lexington on their way to the NBA or as a glorified AAU team, think about this:

Josh Harrellson, a guy whom Calipari inherited from Billy Gillispie, a guy whom Calipari admitted he really didn’t want to coach, a guy who couldn’t even make it on the floor for this rivalry game last season, played the way you’d expect Cousins to play Friday as Calipari beat Rick Pitino’s team for the second consecutive year.

This time the venue was the KFC Yum! Center, a block from the Ohio River. This time the final score was No. 11 Kentucky 78, No. 22 Louisville 63.

And this time the difference was Harrellson, who dropped 23 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal against a string of quicker defenders in 37 powerful minutes.

“I’m just proud of him,” Calipari said. “What I said to him after the game was that he taught me a great lesson. What we coaches like to do is just work with the good guys.

“The guys who struggle, sometimes you push them aside. What he has shown me is every kid deserves everything we have to help them get better.”

Harrellson isn’t the guy the world expected to torment Pitino’s team, even with the Cardinals adjusting to life without Rakeem Buckles, their sophomore forward who had five pins inserted in his fractured left index finger Thursday.

Freshman forward Terrence Jones has been Kentucky’s most dynamic player, averaging 18 points while dropping 27 on Notre Dame as the Wildcats won 10 of their first dozen games.

Brandon Knight, another freshman, has been a dependable point guard. Doron Lamb, also a freshman, is a three-point-shooting machine, scoring 24 against North Carolina.

But Josh Harrellson?

The kid is 6-feet-10 and 275 pounds, a bit of a plodder. He played his high school career in St. Charles, Miss., but nobody was calling him a five-, four- or even three-star prospect. He started his career at Southwestern Illinois College.

He had not scored 15 points in a game since he had that many against Indiana during Gillispie’s final season. He averages six points per game, sixth best on the team.

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Harrellson made headlines in October but not simply for the way he plays the game. Miffed he didn’t earn sufficient love from Calipari after he collected 26 rebounds in a Blue-White scrimmage, Harrellson took to Twitter and wondered what a guy had to do to earn a pat on the back.

Calipari’s response was not to pat Harrellson on the back. Calipari’s response was to make Harrellson deactivate his Twitter account.

Harrellson gave everybody plenty to tweet about Friday. Pitino’s defensive scheme focused on confusing Kentucky by surrounding Jones with double teams. It turns out that Louisville’s defenders were the ones who looked confused.
Harrellson scored five of Kentucky’s first nine points. He had nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes as the Wildcats built a 35-24 lead.

He was just getting warmed up. Harrellson was everywhere in the second half, scoring Kentucky’s first basket and then adding a dagger three-pointer from the top of the lane about four minutes into the half that put Kentucky ahead 44-26.

“I think he understands what to do,” Pitino said. “He roams the baseline. They are very good at driving, and as soon as somebody helps, he goes to the baseline. Even if he doesn’t get the ball, he is always on the glass.”

Combine Harrellson’s career day with 25 points from Knight, 12 points and eight rebounds from Jones and DeAndre Liggins’ unrelenting defense against Louisville point guard Peyton Siva, and the Wildcats controlled this game for the final 30 minutes.

After hosting Pennsylvania on Monday, Calipari’s team will head to Georgia on Jan. 8 as the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference.

Life will be more daunting for Pitino and his 11-2 team. The Cardinals are also 11-2 but have played only once on the road. Now half of their next 18 are Big East road games.

“We are going to lose more games,” Pitino said. “They are a Top 10 team, but we are going to play Connecticut twice, we are going to play Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and we are going to play without a power forward.”