Could transfer Eron Harris be a possibility for Kentucky Wildcats basketball?
By Paul Jordan
Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
With the 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats roster pretty much set in stone, the Big Blue Nation turns their attention to the 2015 recruiting class. Right now, Kentucky has one player committed in Charles Matthews but the 2015 class will look to be a large class. Kentucky is one of the teams that has contacted West Virgina transfer Eron Harris and it looks like Harris could be a good fit. for the Wildcats. Harris averaged 17.2 points for the Mountaineers as a sophomore and hit 42.2% of his three pointers and wait for it … 85.6% from the line.
Harris would have two years of eligibility remaining and when you read stuff like this, you really want the kid.
"Eric Harris said his son benefited from not being a high-profile prospect. “He’s a humble kind of guy,” Harris said. “We talk about that a lot. He’ll call me up after he scores 30 points and say, ‘How did I do, Dad?’ That’s just the way he is. He’s not going to get a big head or be boastful about anything he’s done.”"
Let’s face it, the Harrison Twins are leaving after next season and Harris could be part of a very experienced back court in 2015-16. We can assume that Tyler Ulis, Dominique Hawkins, and Devin Booker will be back and Harris’s experience would add to that solid tandem. Charles Matthews would be able to develop at his own pace at all and this would be a very good shooting guard collection. If Harris can join Ulis and Booker, we will not worry about free throw shooting two years from now.
It will be a battle for Harris though and his father has indicated that location may be a key. Harris, who is from the Indianapolis area was contacted by Kentucky, Butler, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. Let the regional wars begin.
Getting back to next season however, we already know that the front court will be stacked and Trey Lyles should be one of the players returning to the 2015-16 team with a year of experience under his belt. It will be hard to keep Lyles off the court this year however, and Lyles has been tabbed as one of the top PF newcomers in college basketball.
"Trey Lyles, Kentucky: Even in the Wildcats’ crowded frontcourt, it’s hard to imagine Lyles not standing out. Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, the state’s Gatorade player of the year, a McDonald’s All-American and so forth and so on, Lyles is the real deal. He averaged 23.9 points, 13 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in his senior season. He’s been a top prospect since his freshman year of high school and brings to Kentucky the ability to score in the low post or stretch out and shoot facing the hoop."
Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
So who is winning the offseason? Rick Pitino or John Calipari? Rick Bozich asked this in a recent column and maybe I am drinking the Big Blue Kool Aid, but aside from the whole hip replacement thing, I see Calipari winning this easily. Bozich does make a case I guess, for the Dirty Birds, but I was not too impressed with his argument. Bozich does make an interesting point about Kenny Payne however.
"Orlando Antigua has taken his talents to Tampa to try to achieve something Lee Rose, Stan Heath and other coaches could not do – win at South Florida. But Calipari kept an essential voice – Payne. The next time you’re in Rupp Arena, follows the dynamics on the UK bench. After Calipari makes one of his dramatic in-game corrections, the player leaving the court generally sits next to Payne, who patiently explains what the head coach wants. Payne is the guy the players trust. Several weeks ago I asked one of Payne’s friends if he was interested in the job at Southern Mississippi, a job that opened when Donnie Tyndall jumped to Tennessee. Payne grew up about 30 miles from the USM. The answer was no. The friend said that the USM job didn’t pay enough – about $500,000 per season. On Wednesday, UK announced that Payne had signed a two-year deal worth $500,000 per season, plus incentives. This is the perfect time to remind everybody that John Wooden never made more than $35,000 per season at UCLA."
It’s also a perfect time to note that Bozich did not even mention Slice Rohrrsen for Kentucky. Advantage, Calipari and it’s not even close.