NEW YORK — The Harrison Twins are moving closer and closer to ending the suspense about their college choice, and they say three schools are contacting them the most at this point.
“Baylor, Kentucky and Maryland, they pretty much contact us on a weekly basis,” Aaron Harrison Jr. told SNY.tv in the above video interview prior to going for 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists as the USA team beat the NYC team, 87-86, Saturday night in the Big Strick Classic at City College of New York.
“So I mean all those three, they pretty much contact us every day, every week.”
SMU and Villanova are also in contention for the talented twins, but the aforementioned trio of schools appears to be leading the pack.
The Harrisons could have teamed with Andrew Wiggins at the Big Strick, but the 6-7 Wiggins was held back in Toronto due to weather conditions.
“It’s a lot of great players here,” Aaron said. “I wasn’t looking forward to playing with one. I love playing with great players.”
All three stars could potentially end up at Kentucky in 2013 — assuming Wiggins opts to reclassify to 2013 from 2014 and then chooses the Wildcats — but Aaron Harrison said he’s not thinking about specific other players — Wiggins, James Young, Julius Randle, etc. — who could join the twins at Kentucky.
“I mean, they always have a good class of players,” Aaron said. “Coach [John] Calipari knows how to put a lot of great players together and make them win so he would just have another great class.”
Andrew, who had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6 turnovers in the Big Strick, echoed those sentiments.
“I’m not sure about who’s going there [to Kentucky] and who’s not, so I can’t really answer that question,” Andrew said.
Aaron said he hasn’t spoken to Wiggins or any other Kentucky targets about potentially playing together.
“No, not really,” he said. “I mean me and my brother, we’re going to play together wherever we go.”
Rumors abound that Randle doesn’t want to team with the Twins, although all three are slated to play together in the Under Armour Elite 24 game Aug. 24 in Venice Beach, Calif.
Randle may not sign until late, well after the Twins have decided. If the Twins pick Kentucky, Randle could end up at North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Baylor or another location.
As for Maryland, they remain a viable option for the Twins, who have family in Baltimore.
“Maryland presents a lot of things,” Aaron said. “It’s close to my family, Coach [Mark] Turgeon recruited me when he was at Texas A&M. It’s close to my family, I like the way they play.”
Added Andrew: “It’s a family atmosphere. The ACC is a great conference and Coach Turgeon is a good coach. Coach Bino [Ranson], I like those guys.”
Baylor is close to the Twins’ home in Dallas and is also in the mix.
“Baylor, they’ve been recruiting me since i was in 7th , 8th grade,” Aaron said. “I’ve been going up there since about 8th grade. I just like the atmosphere. I just like Coach [Scott] Drew, he’s energetic.”
Said Andrew: “It’s close to home, it’s great coaching.”
SMU is also close to home, even if they joined the recruitment late.
“I might take a visit to SMU in September,” Aaron said. “Coach [Larry] Brown, he’s an experienced coach, he’s coached a lot of great players. That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to play with a coach like that.”
Said Andrew: “Great coaching staff they had. Just the facility. Dallas is a really nice place.”
Villanova is the final option.
“They always do a lot with their guards,” Aaron said. “Their guards are successful and it’s not that far away from the Baltimore area.”
Added Andrew: “The way they get to use their guards, it’s a guard-dominated system that Coach [Jay] Wright has.”
The Twins haven’t picked a specific date to announce, but are still targeting sometime in September or October following their visits.
“I’m trying to take a couple visits in the fall, early September and make my decision from there,” Aaron said.
Andrew, for one, seems ready to have it over with.
“Definitely,” he said. “All the text messages, phone calls, it gets annoying but you get used to it after a while.”
And once they decide, he has some serious goals for his senior year of high school.
“I definitely want to win a state championship,” he said. “Hopefully go undefeated and win a state championship.”
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