Josh Harrellson is a hero, even without the Jorts

You have to love Josh Harrellson.

You just have to.

At this point, even if you are a Louisville or Florida or Tennessee fan, you have to at least not hate him.

The latest achievement coming from Harrellson is stopping a drunk driver. Essentially, what happened was that after he left a bar in Lexington, some dude that was hammered backed into his truck, hit another car, and then hit Harrellson's truck for a second time. So Harrellson did what any normal human being would do -- he pulled the keys out of the ignition.

It was only then that he found out there were children in the car.

"We were just worried because he could have put it in drive at any time and maybe ran somebody over, or while our arms were in the car, just kept going and we could have been drug or something," Harrellson said on WKYT. "I'm the type of guy that, I want to make sure everybody else is alright. I saw it, I moved out of the way, I'm fine. My truck got hit, that's replaceable. I was just thankful nobody got hurt and the kids were fine."

Not only was that a brave thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. Drunk drivers kill people, and if the guy can't even back out of a parking lot, its probably not smart for him to be driving his kids home.

Just one question -- where are the Jorts? Because I'm pretty sure the man with the best nickname in college hoops last year is wearing khakis.


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Saying Goodbye: Josh "Jorts" Harrellson

In this world of NBA Draft early entry and one-and-done freshman, it is difficult to become attached to a college star. They simply don't hang around long enough. But when they do, that player becomes the fan favorite. There is nothing like watching a kid develop from a overwhelmed freshman into star as a senior. Those are the players that the fans connect with.

We reached out to some of the blogosphere's best, and over the next couple of weeks we will be running a series of posts saying goodbye to some of the country's best seniors.

Our sixth installment of "Saying Goodbye" comes courtesy of Glenn Logan, the managing editor of the great Kentucky basketball blog A Sea of Blue. There are many Kentucky basketball sites to choose from, but you won;t find one with as much insightful analysis as A Sea of Blue. You can follow along with A Sea of Blue on twitter at @truzenzuzex

Saying goodbye is something Kentucky fans have become used to since John Calipari came to Kentucky, usually to players moving on to the NBA who have a lot of college eligibility left. In the case of Josh Harrellson, though, he is leaving as a senior who will have averaged less than 5 minutes per game throughout his Kentucky career, but made the most of them when it counted, helping lead Kentucky back to a Final Four his senior year for the first time in 13 seasons. Such players usually find themselves elevated into the pantheon of the unforgettable at Kentucky, and Harrellson is no exception.

Little was expected of Harrellson after 2009-10, whch saw him log only 88 minutes the entire season. Despite a reasonably impressive performance in the exhibition games in Canada last summer, Harrellson was expected to serve only as a backup for Enes Kanter.

As the Kanter battle for eligibility drew out into the season, Harrellson was the starter by default at the center position. He played serviceably early in the year, but was pretty much what Kentucky fans expected him to be – a big body that took up space, set screens and got a few rebounds, but little else.

Harrellson famously sent out an ill-advised Twitter comment critical of coach John Calipari’s lack of recognition of his 26 rebounds in the annual intra-squad scrimmage known as the Blue-White game. Calipari was very angry with that tweet, and considered dismissing Harrellson from the team. But after some thought, Calipari decided to ban him from using Twitter and require him to perform 30 minutes of extra conditioning prior to every practice.

As the season went on, Harrellson’s play got steadily better. Few noticed it at first, because of the many weaker teams Kentucky played in the early part of the non-conference schedule. As the schedule wore on, Kentucky fans began commenting on blogs and call-in shows about Harrellson’s solid play, but most UK fans expected him to be exposed in the closing game of the non-conference season against the Louisville Cardinals in the brand-new KFC um! Center.

What happened in the Louisville game was extraordinary. Instead of being dominated by Louisville’s much more athletic big men like Terrance Jennings, Harrellson had the game of his life, exploding for a double-double including 23 points and 14 rebounds. Kentucky thrashed the talented Cardinals in the series inaugural in their brand-new gym, and Harrellson was a major reason why.

By the time league play began, Harrellson’s stats, particularly his rebounding, began to be noticed. After about one third of the SEC season had passed, Harrellson was among the leading rebounders in conference, and had begun showing signs of development in other areas of his game, such as defense.

When the SEC Tournament came around, Harrellson was a genuine force in the paint. While not offensively gifted, his many put-backs and occasional fast-break points began to give his Wildcat teammates more confidence in him. The Wildcats began giving Harrellson the ball on offense, and Harrellson obliged by putting it in the basket.

Perhaps Harrellson’s greatest achievement would happen in the 2011 NCAA Tournament’s third round, where Kentucky went up against the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes. In that game, Harrellson played Buckeye star freshman Jared Sullinger to a virtual draw, allowing Kentucky to play without double-teaming Sullinger in the post, and forcing OSU’s great 3-point shooters to put up challenged shots. Mainly because of Harrellson’s play on Sullinger and some timely shooting from Brandon Knight, the #4 seeded Wildcats upset the #1 seeded Buckeyes and went on to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels to get to the Final Four, where they lost to the eventual champions, the Connecticut Huskies.

Harrellson’s remarkable play has become the stuff of legend in Kentucky. Kentucky Sports Radio bloggers famously nicknamed Harrellson “Jorts” in reference to the blue jean shorts he liked to wear in the summer, and Harrellson embraced that nickname. As any fan knows, there is nothing quite like a catchy nickname to help propel a player into the hearts and minds of Wildcats fans, and that’s exactly what happened to Harrellson.

As Harrellson’s days as a Kentucky student-athlete come to an end, he is suddenly a hot property among NBA agents due to his marketability, he has started his own commercial venture, Jorts55.com.

Harrellson will almost unquestionably play basketball for a living somewhere, a prospect that seemed as unlikely as winning the Powerball lottery at the beginning of this past season.

What a difference a year can make. From unplayable to unforgettable in 12 short months – it could only happen at Kentucky.


More from "Saying Goodbye"

2011: DJ Kennedy, St. John's
2011: JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
2011: Matt Howard, Butler
2011: Keith Benson, Oakland
2011: Preston Knowles, Louisville


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Josh Harrellson, Kentucky's difference maker?

Duke won the 2010 national title with a roster that included Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, and Kyle Singler, all of whom will spend some time in the NBA.

But the most important player on the roster was Brian Zoubek, an unathletic, 7'0" stiff that was only out there to battle in the paint, grab a few boards, set some screens, and, simply, to be an all-around menace.

Enter Josh Harrellson.

Like Duke last season, Kentucky entered this year with a talented trio of two guards (Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb) and a face-up forward (Terrence Jones) leading the way. But with Enes Kanter's ineligibility, Kentucky was left with a hole in the middle that was to be filled by Harrellson and Eloy Vargas, two big men that had played only a handful of meaningful minutes in their college careers.


But as it turns out, Harrellson has been arguably Kentucky's most important player all season long.

He had 15 points and eight boards (four offensive) in Kentucky's 71-63 win over West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32, while helping to hold Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Jones to a combined 12 points and 12 boards. This was coming off of a first round game where Harrellson had 15 points and 10 boards as Kentucky barely hung on to beat the Princeton Tigers.

In Kentucky's eight losses this year, Harrellson has averaged just 4.5 ppg and 8.4 rpg (3.4 offensive) while shooting 50% from the floor. In their 27 wins, he's averaged 8.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg (3.7 offensive) and has shot 62.6% from the floor.

Its more than just the numbers, however.

Harrellson provides a toughness and physicality that Kentucky doesn't have anywhere else on their roster. He's not a great defender, but he's big enough to get in the way and generally does it without fouling. He's a space eater on the glass with an excellent motor. He can finish around the rim.

With Terrence Jones (11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Doron Lamb (6.5 ppg) struggling through the first two NCAA Tournament games, it has made Harrellson's production all that much more important.

And it will be Harrellson that is the most important player on the floor should Ohio State beat George Mason tomorrow. The Buckeyes have this kid, I don't know if you've heard of him, named Jared Sullinger, and it will be Harrellson's responsibility to keep him off the glass, not allow him to establish position, and maybe even get him into foul trouble.

Call Harrellson underrated or overachieving if you must, but the fact of the matter is that he is one of the most valuable players on this Kentucky team.

And he could be the difference maker if they are going to make a Final Four.
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Kentucky proved to the country that they are the real deal

I don't want to say that Kentucky proved themselves this afternoon, because I've had a feeling that this Kentucky team was flying under the radar a little bit.

But at the very least the Wildcats reinforced the notion that they are, in fact, a team capable of making the Final Four this season.

On Saturday afternoon, Kentucky went into Louisville's brand new KFC Yum! Center (can't forget the exclamation point!) and whooped the Cardinals. They won 78-63 in a game that was never really close in the second half.

As you might expect, Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones were impressive. Knight had 25 points on 7-13 shooting while also adding four assists. He's not quite there as a point guard yet -- he did have five turnovers -- but you can see him progressing and growing as a player.


Jones wasn't effective as a scorer -- he had 12 points, the majority of which came late in the second half -- but he played a terrific all-around game. He had eight boards and three blocks, but I was most impressed by his six assists. Louisville paid a lot of attention to him, which meant that Josh Harrellson was far too open on far too many occasions. The Wildcat's senior center had 23 points and 14 boards, six of which came on the offensive end, and also knocked down a three.

Harrellson wasn't he only Wildcat role player that played well, either. DeAndre Liggins showed the nation what people bring up his name when they are talking about the best on-ball defenders in the country, as he completely took Louisville point guard Peyton Siva out of the game. Darius Miller played as well as I have seen him play since he has been in a Kentucky uniform as well.

This Kentucky team may not have the five first round picks that last year's squad did, but I think this may end up being the better basketball team.

They defend, they can shoot, and they have two stars surrounded by some quality role players. Harrellson is not the offensive threat that Enes Kanter would be, but its hard to imagine the Turk being better on the glass or a better positional defender than the man known as 'Jorts'.

Most importantly, however, is that in addition to all of the above, Kentucky is as talented as any team in the country out side of Duke, Kansas, and maybe Ohio State.

Louisville may not be as good as their ranking indicates -- especially without Raheem Buckles and with Elisha Justice and Mike Marra slowed by injury -- but this was an impressive performance from the Wildcats nonetheless.
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Hmm, maybe this is why Billy Gillispie isn't coaching anymore

I love hard-ass, no nonsense coaches. You have to love a coach that can get a player to give everything he has every second he is on the court.

They will scream at you. They will yell at you. They will pull you off the court after 15 seconds if you aren't playing the way that they want you to play.

If you make a mistake, you'll pay for it. Miss a defensive assignment, and you're running an extra suicide in practice. Curse at a referee, and the whole team may run. Play lazy, uninspired basketball, and the next practice you might don football pads.

Billy Gillispie wasn't exactly the best motivator.
(photo credit: The Nasty Boys)

But players don't leave everything on the court because they are afraid of the coach. They don't dive on the floor or take a charge because they are worried about losing their spot in the rotation or that they are afraid to make a mistake. They do it because they believe it will help them win. They listen to the coach because they believe he will make them a better player.

Moreover, when a kid is playing not to make a mistake is when he will make the most mistakes. To succeed as a basketball player (and as an athlete in general, really) you must be able to make trained reactionary decisions.

The ball got swung to the other side of the court? Jump to the help side. That guy beat his man? Get to the charge spot. My defender's overplaying me? Cut backdoor.

These are all split second decisions made by players as taught to them by their coach and learned through hundreds (or thousands) of repetitions in practice. Because the best coaches not only tell you what they want you to do, they teach you the best way to it.

How does all of this involve Billy Gillispie?

On Tuesday, Kentucky.com posted an article chronicling an incident between Josh Harrellson and Billy Gillispie during the Wildcats trip to Vanderbilt. Apparently, Gillispie was not happy with the way that Kentucky, and specifically Harrellson, played during the first half. So as a punishment, Harrellson had to sit in a bathroom stall during the halftime speech. Then, Gillispie sat him for the entire second half of a 77-64 loss before making him ride home on the team's equipment truck as opposed to the team bus.

And if you believe some of the things floating around UK message boards, this is far from the only incident of Gillispie humiliating a player.

Personally, I do not believe that this is still a successful method of coaching (maybe there is a reason that Bobby Knight, Gillispie's idol, is now working at ESPN). For starters, this is not how you build a rapport with your team. After two season's worth of embarrassment, is it any wonder that the Wildcats finally quit on Gillispie at the end of last year?

As a coach, if you want to get a player's best effort, convince them that it will make them a better player and a more appealing pro prospect. Don't try to scare them into playing hard. Isn't the pressure of playing major college basketball enough? Should a coach really add to that by making his team worried about committing a turnover?

Josh Harrellson is prepared to run through a wall for Coach Cal.
(photo credit: Kentucky Sports Radio)

The biggest issue I have isn't with the actual punishment that Gillispie doled out. It wasn't illegal or an NCAA violation, so if that is what Gillispie felt was the method of motivating his team, well, to each their own. Look where it got him.

My biggest issue is with these quotes from Harrellson:

"I didn't play the way he wanted me to play."

And how did Gillispie want Harrellson to play?

"I don't know," [Harrellson] said. "He never told me. Just play stronger, I guess."

It is one thing to punish someone for not doing what you want them to do. It is another thing to punish a kid when he doesn't know what you want him to do. But to never explain to the kid what you looking for from him, even after the fact?

What did I say before?

"The best coaches not only tell you what they want you to do, they teach you the best way to it."

Maybe that is why Gillispie is currently unemployed.

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