Aaron Harrison Named to Charlotte Summer League Roster
July 1, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. – And then there were seven. Aaron Harrison was officially tabbed to the Charlotte Hornets summer league roster on Wednesday, becoming the seventh Wildcat from the 2014-15 Final Four squad to earn selection to an NBA squad.
Harrison was listed as a member of the Hornets’ 14-man roster and will wear jersey No. 9. Charlotte opens up its summer league schedule on July 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Aaron (Harrison) didn’t get drafted, but he will be fine,” UK coach John Calipari said on draft night. “I will tell you that he will be on a summer league team and fighting for a position on an NBA team. My guess is he will be on an opening-season roster even though he wasn’t drafted.”
Harrison will forever be remembered for his three straight game-winning 3-pointers during UK’s thrilling 2014 NCAA Tournament run. The sophomore averaged 12.4 points in his two-year career with the Wildcats and sunk 121 career 3-pointers, a mark that ranks 22nd all-time in Kentucky’s record books.
He started all but one game in his 79 career appearances. Harrison was a Second Team All-SEC selection as a sophomore and a two-time All-SEC Tournament Team selection. For his career, he shot 41 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from behind the arc. He finished just 21 points shy of joining UK’s 1,000-point club.
Harrison is the seventh Wildcat from the historic 2014-15 squad to earn an NBA slot. Six Wildcats were drafted on Thursday night, tying the program’s own NBA record for draft selections in a single year. Furthermore, four Wildcats were selected in the NBA lottery (the opening 14 picks), which also tops a program record set by the 2010 Kentucky team for most picks in that range.
Karl-Anthony Towns highlighted the night by becoming the program’s third No. 1 overall selection since 2010 when he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Towns was joined in the lottery by Willie Cauley-Stein (sixth – Sacramento), Trey Lyles (12th – Utah Jazz) and Devin Booker (13th – Phoenix Suns). Continuing a historic night, Andrew Harrison went 44th overall to the Phoenix Suns and Dakari Johnson was selected 48th overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Andrew Harrison’s draft rights were later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
In all, Calipari has had 25 NBA draft picks since becoming UK’s head coach in 2009, which includes 19 first-round selections and three No. 1 picks.
The @hornets have announced their summer league roster & @AaronICE2 is on it. Congrats Aaron! http://t.co/qiHKEuSB6C pic.twitter.com/bJdem2qdQU
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 1, 2015
