#55 JOSH HARRELLSON
SENIOR FORWARD
6’10 275
St Charles, MO
SW Illinois College
CAREER HIGHS:
Points: 15 vs Indiana – 12/13/2008
Rebounds: 10 vs West Virginia 11/29/08
Blocks: 3 vs Longwood – 11/24/2008
AS A WILDCAT:
Josh came to Kentucky a late entry to the 2008 class, transferring from SW Illinois College. Josh chose Kentucky over virtually the entire Big 10 (Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Ohio State, Purdue) as his college home. Josh saw action in all 34 games as a sophomore, but his development was arrested by the creative substitution patterns of Billy Gillispie. Harrellson hit his stride in the 2008 portion of the schedule, hitting double digits five times and having a double double versus West Virginia. Once the new year rolled around, Harrellson saw his minutes and production drop, although he did start his only two games in mid Feburary. After those two games, Harrellson only saw 42 minutes in the last nine games. Josh saw his scoring and rebounding averages drop from 6.3 and 4.0 on December 30 to 3.6 and 2.5 by the end of the season.
With the arrival of John Calipari and DeMarcus Cousins to Lexington, Jorts only appeared in 22 games last season and averaged just 4 minutes a game. Josh’s best game was versus Drexel when he had 5 points, 3 boards, and 2 blocks in the historic UK2K victory. As the calendar hit February and Calipari started to tighten his playing rotation, Josh only played 14 points in 7 games and scored just four points. For the season, Harrellson averaged just 1.3 points and 1.2 assists on the season.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER
Josh had a very active summer, taking part in a contingent of US players to tour China (along with Jon Hood). Josh was very impressive on the tour and was one of the top rebounders and players on that squad. Being the uber international traveler that he is, Jorts also impressed in the Canada series, averaging around 9.3 points and 12.6 rebounds a game. Back in Lexington, Harrellson had 16 points and a whopping 27 rebounds in the Blue/White game.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM JOSH THIS YEAR
The fate of Enes Kanter will have a lot to do with the amount of playing time Jorts will get this season. Against Pikeville, Harrellson saw 16 minutes of action and had 7 rebounds and 3 points. If Kanter is out for an extended amount of time, Kanter may start out in the 8 minute a game range. Terrence Jones played just 22 minutes in that game, and he certainly will play a lot more as the season starts. Also Eloy Vargas will give Harrellson a serious run for his money as the season progresses.
For the season, it’s hard to envision Harrellson averaging more than 5-7 minutes a game, especially if Kanter is eligible. What he does give Kentucky is a hungry rebounder that can chew a few minutes in the post should there be an injury or foul trouble. Harrellson is used to Calipari’s system by now and should be able to make the most of his minutes. He showed as a sophomore that he is capable of throwing in 10-12 points in about 20 minutes of play. There is no reason to think that he can not provide similar production if given the time. Look for Harrellson to get more minutes this year with a bit more production. For him to be successful, he will have to adopt the “relief pitcher” mentality and always be ready to add some quality minutes.
CALIPARI on JOSH:
"“Josh will provide depth in our front court this year and comes into the season with a renewed confidence after his experience playing in China this summer. He has the ability to stretch the defense with his shooting ability.”"
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