It was a two-rrific (oh my God, I’m so sorry) Thursday for John Calipari and the Kentucky basketball program, as Andrew and Aaron Harrison announced they will be playing their college basketball for the Wildcats.
Harrison twins choose Kentucky over Maryland
Five-star twin guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison ended one of the most highly-publicized recruiting battles in recent memory by picking Kentucky over Maryland on Thursday.
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In a highly-publicized recruiting battle that went right down to the wire, the Harrisons ultimately picked UK over Maryland. The five-star twin guards from Texas announced their decision during a press conference at their high school that was televised by ESPNU.
“We just sat down one night and decided that we wanted to go somewhere where we could win and win right away,” said Aaron.
There’s justification for the hype surrounding the Harrisons, whom many believe have the potential to eventually become the best brother tandem in basketball history.
Each Harrison stands 6’5 and possesses a ridiculous combination of size and skill. Aaron is rated as the top 2013 point guard by every major scouting service, and is the No. 2 overall player in the class according to Scout.com. Just one spot behind him in Scout’s rankings is brother Andrew, who is more of a scorer but has the ability to play both backcourt positions.
The twins’ commitment to Kentucky comes despite several reports syaing their father, Aaron Harrison, Sr., would have preferred for them to play for Mark Turgeon at Maryland. The Terps also had an advantage due to the fact that Maryland’s team outfitter, Under Armour, also outfitted the twins’ AAU club, which was coached by Harrison, Sr.
In the end though, the twins decided that the opportunity to play for the defending national champions was too attractive to bypass.
“Coach Calipari presented a challenge for us,” Andrew said. “He told us from day one that he was going to push us and challenge us every day, and that’s what we really wanted to hear. We just want to become better players.”
Headlined by top-rated center Nerlens Noel, Calipari’s recruiting class of 2012 was his fourth to earn a No. 1 ranking in as many years at Kentucky. The commitments by the Harrisons certainly give him the inside track on extending that streak. If UK is also able to land five-star forward Julius Randle and Huntington Prep forward Andrew Wiggins – who will likely be the No. 1 player in the 2013 class if he reclassifies as expected – then talk will quickly begin to swirl about this being the best recruiting class of all time.
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