Texas’ growing pool of college basketball talent a win for Kentucky

Rarely does basketball spring to mind when one thinks of the Lone Star State, but a Kentucky Wildcat team may be the ones to put that stigma to rest.

When Aaron Harrison, a native of Richmond, TX, nailed a three-point shot with seconds remaining against Wisconsin, he secured an improbable trip to the NCAA championship game for the eight-seeded Wildcats.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

Joining Harrison in tonight’s title game will be two other players hailing from Texas, his brother, Andrew, and Julius Randle.

This Texas trio, all freshmen, combines to average nearly 40 points per game and are the team’s three leading scorers in the NCAA tournament.

Randle, whose hometown is just miles from the spot of tonight’s championship game, has taken the NCAA tournament by storm, leading Kentucky in both points and rebounds while averaging a double-double.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari has witnessed a changing tide in Texas athletics and is impressed with Texas’ talent pool when it comes to basketball.

“It’s not just a football state,” Calipari said. “People might not believe that, but they’ve got terrific players down here, too.”

All three players were ranked among the top-11 high school prospects at Rivals.com, a fact that has created much over-analysis and scrutiny from Kentucky fans, and head-scratching from Texas fans.

Many Longhorn fans may wonder how a school as big, prestigious and resourceful as Texas allows these home-grown stars to slip through their fingers.

The answer to this is simple, Calipari’s prowess as a recruiter is assisted by the fact that he’s coaching one of the most storied programs in NCAA basketball.

The Longhorns have struck gold before with Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and TJ Ford. However, being a team that’s reached the coveted Final Four only once in the last 60 years, Austin is far from the college basketball mecca that Lexington is.

It’s a difficult cycle to break. The best players want to go to the best programs where they are bound to receive the most media exposure, and a school can’t become one of the better programs if the top recruits don’t consider them. Thus, the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.

The good news: Texas is currently in an interesting position. Having the framework of a solid team in place (Isaiah Taylor, Cameron Ridley, Jonathan Holmes and Javan Felix are all unlikely to declare for this year’s NBA Draft), and winning a game in this year’s tournament could give high-profile recruits something to consider.

Meanwhile in Kentucky, Randle is expected to declare for the NBA Draft and will, in all likelihood, become a lottery pick.  The Harrison twins will likely follow suit and could get picked up in the first round, leaving Calipari with another depleted roster. However, there’s no doubt Calipari will reload and dip into Texas’ growing talent pool once more.

“It just shows how big a state Texas is and that it’s not just a football state,” Andrew Harrison said. “We can play some basketball down here, too.”

Let’s just hope Texas’ best choose to stay close to home. [/s2If]
[s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

[/s2If]