Aaron Harrison respects Coach Cal's move to Arkansas, welcomes Mark Pope to Kentucky

When you think of the best days of the John Calipari era at Kentucky, Aaron Harrison is included at the very top of the list. Starting with the press conference commitment alongside his twin brother Andrew, through the highs and lows of the 2013-14 regular season, “It’s going to be a great story” after the South Carolina loss, an all-time postseason run to the national championship game, then returning for a sophomore campaign to help build one of the most dominant teams college basketball has ever seen, it’s a two-year journey we’ll all remember forever. That was peak Kentucky basketball.

It’s hard to explain that feeling, but we all know it. Aaron Harrison certainly does after hitting some of the biggest shots in March Madness history, the catalyst for that momentum in Lexington.

“I try to explain how much energy it was around the school at that time, but you really can’t put that type of stuff into words. You really had to be there,” Harrison told KSR. “It was just — it was a different type of energy that I don’t think any school could ever match ever, simply with basketball. I mean, it’s unexplainable. It’s the best basketball school for a reason, for sure.”

He feels it to this day, fans still thanking him for that magical run and those big shots that happened a decade ago. New players have come and gone since that time, even some all-time fan-favorites, but Big Blue Nation hasn’t let Harrison forget about “the point where he always hits it.”

And he’s grateful for those interactions all of these years later, just as much as he is to have been a key part of those memories.

“For sure (fans still show love),” he said. “You get that on social media, you always get supporters of the school hitting me up and supporting me, asking me how I’m doing, telling me they’re still a fan. That’s great to just get that type of support from even doing something 10 years ago.”

That puts him in the middle of a tricky spot in today’s era of Kentucky basketball, one that is moving past John Calipari and embracing a new face of the program in Mark Pope. Coach Cal is now in Fayetteville while Pope has filled his seat in Lexington.

How is Harrison adjusting to the move, that run coming while he was in blue and white with Kentucky across his chest, but Calipari recruiting him to Lexington and putting him in those positions to succeed in the first place? He’s not picking sides.

On one hand, he’ll always be a Wildcat and appreciate his time wearing that jersey. On the other, he’ll always support Coach Cal and appreciate what he did for his career as a basketball player.

So why not both?

“I mean, obviously — Coach Cal is my guy, obviously. He obviously changed my life and helped me a lot, so I obviously see and think about Kentucky,” Harrison told KSR. “I put Coach Cal with that, obviously, because that’s how I’m so connected with it. But I think it’s pretty cool to have a new coach with new things moving on. I’m happy for Coach moving to Arkansas, so I think it’s all pretty cool.”

His specific thoughts on Pope? He made it clear he was a supporter and would continue rooting for Kentucky’s success in Lexington, just as he hopes Calipari keeps things rolling at Arkansas.

“I love Coach Cal obviously, but I am excited to see what Coach Pope can do and I’m definitely going to cheer for him,” Harrison said at his Media Day after being announced as a new addition for La Familia, Kentucky’s TBT team. “He seems like a great guy and I’m excited to meet him.”

He’ll get that opportunity in two weeks when he returns to Lexington for The Basketball Tournament.