Andrew Harrison is back with Kentucky basketball. This time, without his brother
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Andrew Harrison returns to Kentucky to play for La Familia in this year’s TBT.
- Aaron Harrison misses the tournament because his daughter was born this week.
- La Familia opens a best-of-three series against Louisville at noon Saturday in Lexington.
For the two most successful seasons of his three-year tenure as a Kentucky basketball player, Willie Cauley-Stein patrolled the paint while the same pair held down the backcourt.
In those days, it was Andrew Harrison at the point guard spot and Aaron Harrison at the 2. The twin brothers certainly had some doubters during their time at UK, but the final results are hanging in the Rupp Arena rafters for all to see.
Year 1, a trip to the national championship game. Year 2, a 38-0 record going into Final Four weekend. That run ended more than 11 years ago. No Kentucky basketball team has hung a banner in Rupp since.
Cauley-Stein and the Harrison twins were key players for both of those teams. They’ve also returned to Lexington for each of the previous two years to reunite on the La Familia roster, the UK-aligned TBT team that now competes annually in a winner-take-all summer tournament with a pot that has grown to $2 million.
As Cauley-Stein looked ahead to this year’s tournament, which starts at noon Saturday with a game against Louisville’s TBT squad in Memorial Coliseum, the 7-footer glanced across the Joe Craft Center gym to where Andrew Harrison had been standing a few moments earlier.
He reminisced about his previous UK basketball life alongside the twins.
“Them together, they’re characters, man,” he said. “So you just like playing with them, being around them off the court. They’re funny together.”
This time around, however, there’s only one Harrison.
And that was an odd sight.
“Seeing them without each other is actually weird,” Cauley-Stein said.
Imagine how Andrew feels.
“Usually my brother’s here,” he said. “He’s not here this year. I miss him a lot. It kind of feels a little weird without him. I’ve never been here without him.”
The brothers were inseparable growing up. The five-star recruits shared a bedroom all through high school, despite living in a house with plenty of room to spare, and they were rarely apart during their time in Lexington.
Following their sophomore year, which ended with a loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four, two victories shy of a perfect season, the Harrisons had to split up, each going their separate ways to embark on pro basketball careers.
That made the Harrison homecoming at the 2024 TBT that much sweeter. The two continued to train together in Texas during their offseasons, but they hadn’t actually played together again until joining forces on that La Familia squad two years ago.
They returned to town last summer, too. This time, Aaron couldn’t make it. At least he had a good excuse. His first child, a daughter, was born Monday.
“I got a picture, but it’s in my phone,” Andrew said excitedly the next day, looking across the gym toward his bag, his tone suggesting he’d love nothing more than to show everyone assembled the photo of his niece.
“I’m Uncle Drew now,” he said with a grin. “I miss him so much. Like I said, it’s the first time ever that I’ve been here without him. I mean, of course we could use him on the team, but he’s handling his business. He’s getting the best gift you can ask for. So our whole family is excited for him. But I’m here to do a job and try to win this tournament.”
A few minutes later, Harrison was back on the Craft Center court, going through drills with his teammates in preparation for La Familia’s run at that $2 million prize.
“It feels like you’re back in college again,” he said. “Just being able to play here at University of Kentucky — it’s not the same as obviously going here — but just being able to be around the fans in the city and just having that energy and knowing that people want to be around you and see you and stuff, it’s amazing.”
Basketball has taken Andrew Harrison all over the world since his UK playing days.
He spent parts of three seasons in the NBA, appearing in 145 regular season games (most of them with the Memphis Grizzlies) and remains an active pro as his 32nd birthday nears.
Harrison recently wrapped up his first season in Germany’s top league. The season before that, he played in Mexico and Qatar. He’s also competed for pro teams based in Greece and Turkey since his last stint in the United States — a short run with the Chicago Bulls’ G League affiliate in 2022 — and played for teams in China and Russia before that.
Times like these are a break from the globe-trotting grind.
“This is so much fun compared to playing overseas or playing some professional stuff,” Harrison said of his latest return to Lexington. “This is so much fun. I can’t even put into words how much I enjoy coming in and doing this. But at the same time, you want to win.”
That journey starts this weekend.
In addition to doubling the winner’s purse this summer, TBT officials have reconfigured the format. What used to be a 64-team, single-elimination tournament is now a 14-team event, but the bracket will begin with a best-of-three series pitting alumni squads against each other.
Kentucky vs. Louisville was a natural pairing. La Familia will host The Ville at noon Saturday in Lexington in an opener that will also be televised live on Fox. Game 2 will take place at 7 p.m. Monday in Freedom Hall, and Game 3, if necessary, will be back at Memorial Coliseum with a 6 p.m. tip time Wednesday. Both of those games are set to be shown live on FS1.
Harrison pointed out that he was 3-0 against the Cards during his time in college. La Familia also defeated The Ville in Freedom Hall two years ago, a TBT elimination game that nearly resulted in an all-out brawl on the court following the final whistle.
Asked if Louisville being the opponent added a little “extra juice” to this year’s event, Harrison launched into a “just another game” spiel that would’ve made John Calipari proud. He quickly caught himself, grinned, and told the truth.
“Yes, it does. Of course,” he said. “Never lost to ’em. Don’t want to start now. They have a good team, but I feel like if we do what we’re supposed to do, we’re the best team in the tournament. It’s a few days away, so I’m not really feeling it yet. But, definitely, Louisville is not a normal game. We’re gonna come and play as hard as we can and win. Do whatever we gotta do to win.”
As for Aaron, he’ll have to watch this one from home, perhaps with his new baby daughter in his arms. Cauley-Stein offered his former teammate a hearty congratulations and said he had a few other friends become fathers for the first time in recent weeks.
Cauley-Stein, who has three young kids, was asked if he had any advice for Aaron Harrison and the other new dads in his friend group. He smiled, adopting that playful lilt in his voice that won over so many during his days as a Wildcat.
His advice? “Good luuuuuck.”
