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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 05-04-2010, 01:55 PM:

Jorts (Josh Harrellson) is slated to do what Orton did this past season and that is to give Kanter some rest and hopefully some offense during the time he's in the game.

You know whose position became a great deal more important in the last few weeks? Yep thats right, the man they (we) call Jorts has taken on added importance for the 2011 season. Dont believe me? Look at the roster…as of now, there are 9 scholarship players on the 2011 roster and only one of them classifies as a “big man.” Enes Kanter is the #3 prospect in America, but he could have foul trouble, might occasionally get tired and could even potentially have some eligibility issues when the season starts. Terrence Jones and/or Marcus Thornton are in the pipeline, but neither is a true center and both will have the same issues of fouls and stamina that we will see from Kanter. What does that mean? It means we get to see more Jorts.

Last season was never a time that Josh Harrellson was going to get a lot of minutes. He had two top 20 talents ahead of him at center and two more experienced players ahead of him at Power Forward. That basically mean that he only saw rare duty in serious foul situations or at the end of games. He never truly got a chance to showcase his outside shooting and when he did play, he always seemed a step slow. Starting next year however, UK will need him to play and play well. His shooting will open up things from outside and his ability to take up space down low will be a must as he shares the position with Enes. UK simply wont have the depth for Jorts not to play and he HAS to take his game to another level.

When Calipari came in, he had two big men on the roster, one of which he could keep. The choices were Josh “Jorts” Harrellson and Matt “Beast” Pilgrim. In part because he liked the way he played and in part because of off the court issues, Calipari chose Jorts as the one he wanted to stay. Last year that decision didnt mean a great deal either way, as Patterson/Stevenson/Orton and Cousins all held down the positions that Jorts would have occupied. That is not the case next year. No matter what the final roster looks like, Josh Harrellson will have to be a meaningful part of it. He is getting in shape and getting ready to produce next year. Good thing, because its time for him to step up to the next level and turn the UK Erruption Zone into a Sea of Denim.

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Posted by Cat Fan In The Mill (Member # 2756) on 05-04-2010, 02:39 PM:

No offense, but I would rather have had Pilgrim coming back this season to team up with Kanter instead of Josh. JMO

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 05-04-2010, 02:58 PM:

Count me as foolish, perhaps, but I think Josh will do fine offensively next year in the DDMO. It is on the defensive side that he has struggled the most, and where he needs to improve significantly to see the floor for extended minutes.

Should we not land any other big men, and if Josh doesn't prove his mettle on the defensive side, we will likely see a lot of "Enes and the Four Dwarfs" next year...

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 05-04-2010, 05:24 PM:

I think Harrelson will be ready and do a great job for us next year, might even be the starting 5 man at the beginning of the season. He has an outside 3 point shot that our big men did not have this season.

Posted by Cat Fan In The Mill (Member # 2756) on 05-05-2010, 02:06 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Tiptree:
Count me as foolish, perhaps, but I think Josh will do fine offensively next year in the DDMO. It is on the defensive side that he has struggled the most, and where he needs to improve significantly to see the floor for extended minutes.

Should we not land any other big men, and if Josh doesn't prove his mettle on the defensive side, we will likely see a lot of "Enes and the Four Dwarfs" next year...

I hope I am wrong and that Harrellson does a whale of a job. I guess I expected bigger things from him when he got here.

By Josh playing well, it can only make the team that much better.

Posted by lumafia (Member # 3118) on 05-05-2010, 04:23 PM:

I've posted on here before that Josh could have a positive impact on the team next year. He is a cerebral player who understands the nuances of the game, has size, has a decent skill set, is always under control, never looks intimidated over overwhelmed.

I like our team with Harrelson on the floor. All of our standards are higher based on seeing "once in a decade" players like Patterson and Cousins on the floor.

Josh puts up good numbers when he gets minutes. During his soph year he had some good games against decent competition, even when he didn't get many touches.

If Harrelson can improve his outside shooting a little, and improve on defense, he could be a big suprise to many of the folks in the SEC.

Posted by RC2CAT (Member # 3154) on 05-05-2010, 04:51 PM:

lumafia says it real well. Out of the box, Kanter is 30 minutes a game. So, all you really need out of Josh is 10 solid minutes in the paint. Don't really see the need for him to develop an outside game. Defend, rebound, pass inside, offensive putbacks.

Posted by Gunny (Member # 2869) on 05-05-2010, 06:42 PM:

I don't think we'll be getting Pilgrim back.

http://www.wkyt.com/sports/headlines/92888424.html