Tweets helped Knicks' Harrellson to NBA
Josh Harrellson of the Kentucky Wildcats gestures as he reacts against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at St. Pete Times Forum on March 19, 2011, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Getty Images
NEWARK -- Last October, Josh Harrellson was running daily wind sprints, wondering if he'd blown his chance to be the starting center at the University of Kentucky. He was being punished for some critical posts he made on Twitter about coach John Calipari and was worried about his future. Said Harrellson, "I wasn't sure if Coach was going to kick me off the team."
Nine months later, he can laugh about the situation and consider it a blessing in disguise. The Knicks acquired the draft rights to the 6-10, 275-pounder from the New Orleans Hornets for cash considerations after he was selected 45th overall in Thursday night's NBA draft.
Harrellson and Knicks first-round pick Iman Shumpert sat courtside Sunday as the Liberty beat the Sparks at Prudential Center. Shumpert said he has yet to speak with any of his new Knicks teammates but is looking forward to getting started. "I'm just really excited," said the former Georgia Tech guard, who just turned 21.
Meanwhile, Harrellson's head has been spinning since draft night. He said he was a baseball player while growing up in Missouri and had dreams of pitching in the major leagues. But after eighth grade, when his height spiked, Harrellson turned his attention to basketball.
Not highly recruited, he attended Southwestern Illinois College for one season before transferring to Kentucky in 2008. Unable to find much playing time, Harrellson caught Calipari's ire when he tweeted some displeasure about a scrimmage. Instead of suspending him, Calipari forced him to run sprints every day for a month with conditioning coach Kenny Payne.
Looking back at it, Harrellson said, those sprints got him in the best shape of his life. He averaged 7.6 points and 8.7 rebounds and hit 61.1 percent of his shots from the field.
"That,'' Harrellson joked, "was the smartest dumb thing I've ever done in my life."
Asked if he ever thought he had a shot at the NBA when he was at Southwestern Illinois, Harrellson said, "Not in a million years." He added, "It's a dream that hasn't really hit me yet. It's a blessing."
