Josh Harrellson certainly had a memorable career at the University of Kentucky playing for coaches Billy Gillispie and then John Calipari.
     Those moments ranged from Gillispie making him sit in a bathroom stall at halftime of a game at Vanderbilt because of the way he was playing to irritating Calipari when he questioned the coach’s lack of praise for his rebounding effort in the preseason Blue-White Game. But he also went from barely playing during the 2009-2010 Final Four season to having a huge role in UK getting back to the 2011 Final Four.
     He had a 24-point, 14-rebound game against Louisville and also led the Southeastern Conference in rebounding (8.8 per game). He had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in an upset win against Ohio State and All-American Jared Sullinger in the NCAA Tournament before coming back with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the East Region final win over North Carolina.
     Harrellson, who earned the nickname Jorts at UK for wearing jean shorts, was a second-round NBA draft pick and had brief stints with several NBA teams and also played overseas in three countries before finding a home in Japan where he has been productive and popular. He averaged 11 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game last season in 52 games for the Hitachi Sun Rockers
     Recently I was able to connect with Harrellson in Japan after his season ended.
     Question: It’s kind of hard for me to believe that you are still playing basketball and making a living doing this. Did you ever imagine you would still be playing — and playing well — in 2022?
     Harrellson: “It is crazy to believe sometimes. I have been really blessed with a healthy body and good work ethic. It sometimes blows my mind that I just finished year 11 looking forward to year 12.”
     Question: How is life in Japan for you now with your family and how much longer do you see yourself still being able to play in Japan?
     Harrellson: “This was my sixth season in Japan. Life in Japan is actually very good. It is the safest place I have ever been to. The people here are so respectful and nice. My family and I absolutely love Japan. I see myself playing 2-4 more years in Japan. I’m trying to obtain Japanese nationality to prolong my career even more.”
     Question: Why do you think you have been able to keep your career going for so long and how hard has it been?
     Harrellson: “To be honest I think my career has been going for this long because I’m a great guy and a good basketball player. I am professional, I work hard and I keep myself out of problems. It hasn’t been too hard in Japan to keep my career going. Every team needs a glue guy that does all the little things that makes the team successful.”
     Question: I admire that you never gave up on your dream at UK of playing professionally. Has there been a time you did get close to packing it in?
     Harrellson: “There were many times in college I thought about taking the easy way out and transferring under Billy and under Cal. Basketball isn’t easy mentally and physically. But I can control my mental and just continue to push through those barriers.”
     Question: For those of us who haven’t seen you play in a while in person, it sounds like you are still rebounding, making 3’s and just being Jorts. Or has your game had to change?
     Harrellson: “My game has not changed very much. Still rebounding, playing defense and making 3’s. I have made a name for myself here in Japan for being one of the best defenders, if not the best one-on-one defender, and being respected as a shooter.”
     Question: Do you stay in touch with any former teammates and do you get a chance to keep up with the Cats?
     Harrellson: “I keep in touch with Patrick (Patterson) and Darius (Miller) the most. We were all close in college. It is difficult being away and keeping in touch but I try my best. It is difficult to watch every (UK) game but I always check the highlights and the stats. I thought for sure they were going to make a deep run (in the NCAA Tournament) this past season. But everyone knows, in March Madness, any team can win.”
     Question: What do you think of Oscar Tshiebwe from afar?
     Harrellson: “Big O is an animal. That dude just outworks everyone he plays against. He is a gifted individual. I am very excited he is coming back. Can’t wait to see how he plays this season.”
     Question: Finally, do you ever run into UK fans in Japan? Harrellson: “There actually have been a few UK fans I have met in Japan. Kentucky fans are all across the world. Not just Big Blue Nation. It is a big blue world out here.”

: Josh Harrellson just completed his sixth professional season in Japan and the former UK player and his family love life in Japan. (Hitachi Sun Rockers Photo)

     “They grew up close to the same part (of Kentucky) as I did. Blair just went through an injury like I did. They are both going to be mentors for me and I will need that,” Rowe said.
     Her current Kentucky all-star teammate, Miss Basketball Amiya Jenkins of Anderson County, is also headed to Kentucky. They will be joined by eight other new players on coach Kyra Elzy’s roster next season.
     “I love her (Jenkins) and I am really excited to get on the floor with her. I am glad we have this opportunity to play together before we go to Lexington,” Rowe said. “We are going to have a full roster next season and I am so excited about that. I am excited to get to meet all the players on the team.”
     Rowe admits she was a bit “shocked” when so many players transferred after UK’s season ended but she believes Elzy and her staff restocked the roster with talented players.
     “I am going to be whatever coach Elzy needs me to be. I am going to work as hard as I can. If she needs me to be a shooter, I will be a shooter. If she needs me to be a role player, I will be a role player,” Rowe said.
     “Whatever she needs me to do I am willing to do. It’s the same on the all-star team. All this is just letting me live out my dream so whatever my coaches want, that’s what I want to do.”

     Five -star sophomore shooting guard Karter Knox of Tampa is already on the recruiting radar of both Kentucky coach John Calipari and Louisville coach Kenny Payne.
     However, that’s not a big surprise since his older brother, Kevin, played at Kentucky and was a top 10 NBA draft pick under Calipari and Payne, a UK assistant coach then.
     ESPN has him as the No. 1 sophomore in the state of Florida and the 10th best recruit in the 2024 class. Another recruiting service has him ranked seventh overall in his class.
     “Cal is keeping tabs on him. He invited us to Big Blue Madness (last season),” said Kevin Knox Sr. “They are calling just like Kenny Payne is.
     “He is about 6-6, 205 and wears a size 17 shoe. He’s a big boy but he can play the two guard with no problem.”
     Karter Knox already has scholarship offers from Arizona State, Boise State and Illinois and figures to add a lot more this summer.
     Knox Sr. said his youngest son got “beat up” a lot by his brothers Kevin and Kobe, a 6-5 sophomore guard at Grand Canyon College and that made him improve.
     So how does he compare to Kevin at the same age?
     “I will tell you what Cal says,” Knox Sr., who won a national championship playing football at Florida State before playing in the NFL, said. “He said, ‘At the same age he is better than Kevin. There is no question. He has a different feel for the game.’
     “I agree with him, too. Karter is thicker. Kevin came to Kentucky weighing 210 pounds. Karter shoots the ball better. He’s more aggressive, has more swag. He has a different DNA. His body type is just bigger. It’s easy to see why he’s ranked as high as he is already.”
     Kevin Knox was also only 17 when he got to Kentucky. He’s been in the NBA four years and is still only 22 — that’s younger than some players who might get drafted next month.
     Karter Knox is a “normal” age for a high school sophomore and his father says he is “trending” to be the best player of his three sons.
     “When you talk about being the ninth pick in the world (like Kevin was in the NBA Draft), that’s tough to follow,” Knox Sr. said. “But everybody is different and has a different body type. That’s why when you look at playing style at the same age, the difference is night and day between Kevin and Karter. He’s just better at the same age.”

     Kentucky signee Cason Wallace had 15 points, three steals, three rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes in the Jordan Brand Classic in April. His coach in that game was Kentucky native Steve Smith, the long-time coach at Oak Hill Academy (Va.) who recently announced his retirement.
     “He has a great attitude and obviously is a great player,” Smith said. “He is explosive. He could play both guard spots in college. He is really good.”
     Another Kentucky signee, Chris Livingston, had 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. He played for Smith at Oak Hill.
     “He and Chris were the two best players on the team I had in the Jordan game,” Smith said. “Wallace is so athletic. He can score. He can pass it. He is smart and lightning quick. I really like the way he played.”
     Smith said he could see Wallace and Livingston building a friendship on and off the court.
     “Wallace plays hard like Chris. Fans are going to love him at Kentucky and they are going to love Chris. They are going to be very good together,” Smith said.

     Ajae Petty was the No. 1 post player and No. 16 overall recruit in Next Sports Phenom Class of 2020 Top 100 ranking after her prep career in Baltimore when she signed with LSU. The 6-3 Petty played 31 games during the last two seasons at LSU and had a career-best 12 points against Stanford last season.
     Petty has transferred to Kentucky and will be one of 10 newcomers on coach Kyra Elzy’s 2022-23 team.
     Former all-SEC defensive back Van Hiles lives in Louisiana and saw her play several times in person the last two years.
     “She is athletic, she can run and she has a great skill set. This young lady can play,” Hiles said. “She is going to up that front court presence. The difference between Kentucky and great teams has been the lack of a true post presence. We have not had a post game. Now with (Nyah) Leveretter and the grad transfer (Adebola Adeyeye of Buffalo) along with Petty, Kentucky is going to have a post presence and depth down low both.”
     Even with the graduation of All-American Rhyne Howard, who has had a sensational start to her WNBA rookie season, Hiles thinks UK could be better than the team that won the SEC Tournament last season.
     “They will not just be relying on one player to score,” Hiles said. “I really like what (coach Kyra) Elzy has done. She is recruiting players to where now she can push the pace. The team will be young but I really believe it will be more the vision that Elzy has in mind for her program.”

  Quotes of the Week

Quote of the Week 1:

     “He is one of the best defensive coaches around. That end of the game is fine. What he has to do is take ownership of how to change the offensive flow. Teams having the most success are more adaptable on offense than Kentucky,” Hoopsinsight analyst Sean Vinsel on UK coach John Calipari.

Quote of the Week 2:

     “Other kickers I have had just want to sit and watch practice. He wanted to play another position and started 14 games for us at linebacker and defensive end,” Boyle County coach Justin Haddix on punter/kicker Jackson Smith, a UK signee.

Quote of the Week 3:

     “He is probably the smartest player around that didn’t drink the NBA Kool-Aid. He saw the writing on the wall that at best he would be a second round pick and compared that to making NIL money and how much fun he could have competing another year in college,” Rivas/Yahoo basketball writer Krysten Peek on Oscar Tshiebwe returning to UK for another season.

     247Sports had ranked five players who transferred to Kentucky to play for Mark Stoops among the top 181 transfers nationally.
     The highest-rated transfer was receiver Javon Baker of Alabama at No. 73 overall. He played in 21 games at Alabama and had seven catches for 101 yards. He seemed like a great addition for the UK offense and quarterback Will Levis — but that sure changed last week. Kentucky confirmed that Baker would not be transferring and it was not Baker’s idea. He still wanted to come but for unspecified reasons Kentucky changed its mind about taking him.
     Another receiver, Tayvion Robinson of Virginia Tech, is transferring to UK and is ranked 132nd by 247Sports. He led his team in receptions (44) and receiving touchdowns (5) in 2021 and was second in receiving yards (559). He started 30 games for Tech. He brings experience to a position where Kentucky has talent but lacks collegiate experience, one reason UK initially was going to also take Baker.

     Defensive back Keidron Smith of Mississippi is No. 90 on the transfer list but he had 223 tackles, 21 passes defended, five forced fumbles, five interceptions, eight tackles for loss and one sack in the last four years. He also filled a need for Stoops.
     Defensive lineman Darrion Henry-Young came from Ohio State and is rated No. 128 even though he played only sparingly in his two years with the Buckeyes.
     Offensive lineman Tashawn Manning of Auburn is the lowest rated at No. 181 but could be as valuable, or more valuable, than any other transfer for what he will add to the Big Blue Wall. His arrival has made it easier to move guard Eli Cox to center knowing Manning can fill Cox’s spot. He made 14 starts at Auburn the last two years and has needed SEC experience like Baker and Smith.
     And how were the players Kentucky lost in the transfer portal? None were ranked among the top 247 players by 247Sports.