Josh Harrellson

With the yearly influx of young talent John Calipari brings to the Bluegrass State, it's easy to forget and sometimes overlook the juniors and, at least this year, lone senior that provide an important dose of leadership and stability on a very young Wildcat team.

Josh Harrellson has traversed a long and winding road to get to where he is today. Coming out of high school in St. Charles, Missouri, Harrellson was not highly recruited but signed with Western Illinois University, although he would end up at Southwestern Illinois College, a junior college school. After just a year there, Josh began attracting some serious D-1 attention, with the likes of Indiana, Ohio State and Purdue vying for his services.

In the end, it came down to St. Louis and the University of Kentucky, and Harrellson eventually picked the Cats and then coach Billy Gillispie. A tumultuous season for UK collectively and Harrellson individually ended with the 6-10 center averaging 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds a game.

Enter John Calipari and the most talented group of freshmen to ever assemble at a single school, and Harrellson's numbers actually get worse his second year at UK, with Josh averaging just over a point and rebound a contest.

Five first round draft picks and a heavy-handed, idiotic ruling from the NCAA later, Harrellson is not only thrust into the Cats' starting lineup, but is also expected to carry the load up front along with unproven freshman Terrence Jones. Needless to say, Josh has answered the bell and become one of the toughest big men in the Southeastern Conference.

Averaging around 7 points a game, Harrellson has scored in double figures 7 times this year, with a career high 23 at hated in-state rival Louisville, the now signature win of the 2010-11 season. Even more impressive is that the seemingly unathletic and at times out-muscled center leads the SEC in offensive rebounds and averages 9 rebounds a game.

Double doubles have become commonplace for Harrellson when they were unthinkable just a year or two ago, and it comes down to the kid's work ethic. He shed a few pounds over the summer, put on some muscle and got into incredible shape to better mesh with Calipari's up-tempo system of play.

And just think, all of this from a kid that wore a pair of jorts on his official visit to UK.

Let's take a moment tonight to single out Kentucky's only senior, a hard-working, incredibly dedicated young man without whom this Wildcat team would be God-knows-where.

Best of luck to Josh Harrellson tonight, the rest of the season and in all his ventures after graduation.