ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron and Andrew Harrison had a moment as the clock ticked under 10 seconds.UK trailing by two, Andrew Harrison passed to his brother. As Andrew Harrison shouted for him to ‘Go, go!’ a grin came across Aaron Harrison’s face.Having spent all of his 19 years around his identical twin, Andrew Harrison knew exactly what the look meant.”He was smiling like he knew he was going to make it,” Andrew Harrison said.After a moment’s hesitation, Aaron Harrison rose over Wisconsin’s Josh Gasser. The Division I-record crowd of 79,444 anxiously watching — and the blue-clad fans in attendance surely confident given the freshman shooting guard’s recent history — he buried the 3 from NBA range with 5.7 seconds left, propelling UK to a 74-73 victory and a spot in the national championship game.”I want to be the one to take the shot and I’m not afraid to miss the shot,” Aaron Harrison said. “As long as you’re not afraid to miss I think you have a good chance of making it.”The same smile that appeared just before his latest clutch display creeping across his face, Aaron Harrison intimated he wasn’t quite as confident as his brother thought. Pressed for a number, Aaron Harrison said he was “79 percent” sure the shot would fall.”I knew I was going to pull up, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I was going to make it,” Aaron Harrison said. “So I’m just blessed to be in that position to take the last shot.”His teammates felt similarly blessed to be able to count on a player like Aaron Harrison, who climbed into the crowd to greet his parents and family of Texas natives moments after the buzzer sounded.”When he wants to hit the big shot, he takes it,” Alex Poythress said. “Somebody has to step up. He’s taken that role.”Taken it and run with it.Against Louisville, Aaron Harrison hit the go-ahead 3 in the final minute against Louisville as the Wildcats spoiled their archrivals’ national title defense. Two days later, Aaron Harrison gave UK a 75-72 win over Michigan with a 3 sure to find its way on March Madness highlight reels for years to come.On Saturday night, Aaron Harrison cemented his status as one of the best late-game shooters in NCAA Tournament history with his only 3-point attempt.”It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s unreal just growing up loving the tournament just being a part of it and just being a big part of history, really, with this great team and this great run we made to the Final Four.”It was a run that seemed on the verge of ending when Andrew Harrison fouled Traevon Jackson on a 3-point attempt with 16.4 seconds to go. But when the Wisconsin junior’s first attempt at the line went awry, Aaron Harrison saw all the opportunity he’d need to take his twin brother off the hook.”When you’re down you have a little doubt in the back of your mind, but once he missed that first free throw I knew we had a good chance of winning the game,” Aaron Harrison said.Jackson made his next two shots and John Calipari opted not to call a timeout. He had already set the play during a break as the officials reviewed the clock before the three free throws.”When we huddled, I said, ‘We’re going at Aaron, boys, anybody got a problem with that?’ ” Calipari said.Of course, no one did.Calling Andrew Harrison over after Jackson’s miss, Calipari instructed his point guard to look for a layup on the drive or an easy dump-off to Dakari Johnson. If neither was available, Andrew Harrison was to pass to his brother, affectionately dubbed “the assassin” by his coach.Aaron Harrison well covered and the Cats scrambling, Andrew Harrison dished to Johnson, who quickly gave it back. That’s when that whole twin telepathy thing happened.”I feel like they kind of talked to each other in their mind as that was going on,” Marcus Lee said. “So they probably knew what was happening but we were totally lost. So I don’t even know how to explain that one.”That was a theme in the immediate aftermath of UK’s instant classic.Randle, still beaming after tallying 16 points and a victory in front of his hometown fans, couldn’t even recall the play UK ran to set up Aaron Harrison’s shot barely 30 minutes after it happened. “I can’t even remember the name of the play right now because it’s so crazy,” Randle said. “I just knew Andrew was going to create something and Aaron ended up getting the ball and, I don’t know, I can’t really think right now.”Lee’s memory is even foggier.”I don’t know what I was looking for–I don’t even know,” said Lee, who was on the bench for the play. “After that shot gets made and that buzzer ends, your brain kind of just shuts down after that big shot. So I can barely tell you what just happened.”Aaron Harrison recalls the specifics of the exchange a bit more clearly, but what really sticks out for him is a feeling he got from his coach and teammates.”I think because Coach said he wanted me to take the shot and I think that gave me a lot of confidence,” Aaron Harrison said. “I know my teammates had confidence in me, so I just fed off that, really.”With Aaron Harrison confident and hitting every big shot, UK is being talked about as a team of destiny as the Cats prepare for a showdown with Connecticut. But Aaron Harrison, the man responsible for so many of the magical moments that have the Cats a victory away from a ninth national title, has little interest in that discussion.”I don’t know about magic,” Aaron Harrison said. “I think we all just fight and just don’t let the games go. No matter what we know we have a chance to win so we always just try to keep fighting.”It would be unwise at this point to any kind of last-second heroics past Aaron Harrison at this point. And if you’re worried about them becoming old hat to him, don’t be.”You’re never used to stuff like that,” Aaron Harrison said. “It’s the best feeling. The feeling gets better and better every game.”To bring you more expansive coverage, CoachCal.com and Cat Scratches
will be joining forces for the postseason. You can read the same great
stories you are accustomed to from both sites at CoachCal.com and
UKathletics.com/blog, but now you’ll enjoy even more coverage than
normal.