Aaron Harrison (left) and Andrew Harrison on the bench in the final minutes of the Houston Defenders’ win over the Baltimore Elite in Baltimore.
Mark Turgeon doggedly recruited the Harrison twins for more than two years. The Terrapins men’s basketball coach knew luring two of the top-five players in the Class of 2013 could give his team one of the most fearsome backcourts in the nation.
Yesterday, all that work proved for naught. Andrew and Aaron Harrison announced their commitments to coach John Calipari and Kentucky before a national television audience on ESPNU, choosing the defending national champion Wildcats over the Terps and Southern Methodist University.
“For the next four years, we will be attending the University of Kentucky,” Andrew Harrison said from a packed gymnasium at Travis High School in Richmond, Texas.
“I really want to thank Maryland and SMU for recruiting us that hard,” Aaron Harrison said.
That first statement may not be completely true. Andrew and Aaron — the nation’s top-rated point guard and shooting guard, respectively — are expected to spend one year in Lexington, Ky., before bolting for the riches of the NBA. They would become Calipari’s 12th and 13th one-and-done players in the past seven years.
“We decided we wanted to go somewhere we could win as soon as we get there,” said Aaron Harrison, the nation’s No. 4 overall recruit.
The decision came just one day after Turgeon and assistant Bino Ranson had lunch with the twins’ father, Aaron Harrison Sr., in Houston. Turgeon, whose Terps were widely considered the Wildcats’ biggest competition for the Harrisons, reportedly made three trips to Texas over the past month to persuade arguably the most highly touted “package deal” in recruiting history.
“Maryland has come on strong in the end,” Aaron Harrison Sr. told USA Today shortly after yesterday’s lunch.
Alas, Kentucky’s winning legacy and NBA pedigree overmatched the Terps’ numerous ties to the Harrisons.
Aaron Harrison Sr. hasn’t been shy about his fondness for Turgeon, calling the second-year coach the “most upright citizen” he’s met in basketball. Harrison Sr. grew up in Baltimore and was childhood friends with Ranson. His parents also still live in the Baltimore area.
There was also speculation the Terps may have had an advantage because the Harrisons have strong ties to Under Armour. The Baltimore-based company sponsors the Houston Defenders — the twins’ AAU team that close friend and Terps forward Shaquille Cleare played for last year — and Under Armour Sports Marketing Manager Chris Hightower reportedly developed a close relationship with the family.
But the Harrisons repeatedly said throughout the recruiting process that apparel companies would not factor into their decision. Yesterday afternoon, that became clear.
Turgeon must now move past the snubbing and focus on filling out his 2013-14 freshman class. He will likely focus on securing commitments from two other highly touted guards, Suitland High School’s Roddy Peters and Philadelphia’s Rysheed Jordan.
“I just want to thank Maryland,” Aaron Harrison said. “I know scholarships are a lot of money, and I am so grateful that they were offering that to me.”
