Together again after nearly 10 years, Harrison twins are eager for UK basketball return

The practice floor at the Joe Craft Center made for a nostalgic scene Monday afternoon.

On one side of the court: Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton, two of the original five-star freshmen of the John Calipari era. Surrounded by reporters near midcourt: Willie Cauley-Stein , one of the most beloved Wildcats of the past decade and a half. On the other end of the floor: James Young, a McDonald’s All-American with a Final Four trip on his college résumé.

And not far from him, two more familiar faces. Strikingly similar faces, at that.

Nine years after their last practice in the building, Aaron and Andrew Harrison were back.

All of those former Wildcats are in town this week for the beginning of the TBT, the $1 million, winner-take-all summer basketball tournament that this year will feature La Familia, a squad filled with Calipari-era stars. The Lexington regional of the single-elimination, 64-team event begins Friday in Rupp Arena .

When was the last time the Harrison twins played a competitive game together?

“With him?” Andrew clarified, nodding at Aaron. “You guys saw it.”

It was April 4, 2015, in Indianapolis, where Wisconsin defeated Kentucky in the Final Four, ending the Wildcats’ attempt at a 40-0 season two days before its presumed pinnacle.

The Harrisons have played plenty of organized basketball since then. But never together.

“That’s most of the reason why I’m here. I get to play with him,” Aaron said. “I get to enjoy another week in Lexington. So, I’m super excited. Obviously, there’s the money and winning and being here. But just playing with my brother is — I can’t describe it. I’m excited about it.”

As always, the brothers were on the same page.

“That was probably the No. 1 reason why I decided to come back,” Andrew said. “I usually don’t do stuff like this, just because I’m a little introverted. I like to be by myself. But I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to come back to Lexington and play with Aaron.

“Those are the two main reasons, for sure.”

For two guys who were basically inseparable for the first 20 years of their lives, the past decade or so has been quite the adjustment.

The Harrisons rose to basketball fame as elite recruits in Texas, where they formed a formidable backcourt from a young age — Andrew the point guard, Aaron the shooting guard — and ended up as unanimous top-10 prospects in the 2013 class, one of the biggest “package deals” in recruiting history.

Their rise coincided with Calipari’s unprecedented recruiting success, and the twins landed in Lexington, where they helped lead the Wildcats to consecutive Final Four appearances — an NCAA title game loss to UConn in year one, that devastating defeat to Wisconsin in year two — before going off to the pros.

Back home in Texas, they shared the same room , even after their family moved into a six-bedroom house when the twins were still in grade school. When they got to college, they were just as close, sticking up for each other on the court and still as inseparable off of it.

After the 38-1 run, Andrew was selected with the No. 44 pick in the 2015 NBA draft and began his pro career with the G League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies. Aaron went undrafted but signed with the Charlotte Hornets, and he was actually the first of the twins to make his NBA debut.

Aaron played his final game in the league in April 2018, and Andrew made his last NBA appearance at the end of that same year. Since then, they’ve lived the lives of professional basketball players in foreign lands.

Andrew has played in Russia, China, Greece and Turkey. Aaron has played in Slovenia, Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Portugal (and he’s been with teams in Greece and Turkey, too). Both were active this past season — Andrew in Turkey and Aaron in Portugal — and plan to keep playing internationally.

The Harrisons still spend the summer months back home in Houston.

“We see each other every single day.” Aaron said. “But during the season, when we’re overseas, we may get lucky and be in each other’s country or something like that. But it will maybe be once or twice a year.”

And they’ve never worn the same jersey in a real basketball game since their days at UK.

That will make this run with La Familia extra special.

Both players wore that familiar grin from their younger days while they stood on the Kentucky basketball practice court earlier this week and reflected on their time as Wildcats. They looked a little older than the last time they were there, obviously, but the easiest way to tell the twins apart as teenagers — Andrew’s hair was always a little bit longer — still works as they approach their 30th birthday in October.

Back when they were Cats, the expectations every time they stepped on the court were immense.

“It’s going to be a little different,” Andrew said of the looming return to Rupp. “It’s going to be a little less pressure. Being able to have fun with it more than we used to. But you still want to go out there and compete and win. And play well for the fans. So we’re all excited about that.”

A lot has changed in the past 10 years. The guy that brought them to Lexington is gone, of course, but both twins still count themselves as loyal followers of UK basketball as Mark Pope takes over for Calipari.

“We’ve got a new coach now. It seems like he’s pushing them in a different direction , but a good direction,” Andrew said, noting that he met Pope for the first time a couple hours earlier.

“He’s taller than I thought he was. He seems like a good guy. I’m sure he’s going to make some adjustments. But he played here. He knows how it is. So the program is in good hands. I’m not worried about it.”

Aaron said something similar. In addition to getting back on the court with his brother, he mentioned playing alongside Cauley-Stein — the twins’ teammate for two years — as another added bonus of coming back.

They almost made college basketball history together during their second run.

But that first one — with Aaron hitting those unforgettable 3-pointers in the NCAA Tournament against Louisville, Michigan and Wisconsin; Cauley-Stein sidelined with an injury but celebrating wildly anyway — won’t soon be forgotten.

Aaron said that fans will most remember those three big shots when they hear his name, but he had “countless” other fond memories that stand out from his time in college.

Once again, his brother agreed.

“I mean, when you have a Kentucky jersey on, everything is different,” Andrew said. “Everything is memorable.”

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