Calipari trying to tweak Andrew Harrison again

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Try as Kentucky coach John Calipari might to prop him up, there is just no way around it now. Starting point guard Andrew Harrison is struggling. The top-ranked Wildcats are winning despite him at times lately, as was the case in Saturday's 58-43 victory at South Carolina.

Harrison hit just 1 of 5 shots and finished with four points, two assists and two turnovers. On more than one occasion, he drove into the teeth of the defense without a discernible plan. He often left his feet in traffic and, once in the air, flung the ball wildly in the general direction of a teammate.

"He's getting better. I'm fine with him," Calipari said. "I thought he finished the game good, made some free throws that we needed, ran the game pretty good."

But these are the facts: over the last 10 games, Harrison has hit just 14 of 64 shots – 21.9 percent – with 42 assists to 23 turnovers. Freshman backup Tyler Ulis, meanwhile, is hitting 48.6 percent from 3-point range for the season and has 63 assists to just 17 turnovers. He took charge Saturday and was the catalyst for a 14-0 run that swung the game.

For all his words of support in press conferences, Calipari spent much of the game screaming at Harrison.

"Mainly I'm asking him to do what we do. 'Why did you make that play? You know how we play.' And the other thing is: 'Play with more energy, man. Be more active,' " the coach said. "A reporter came up to me – she interviewed Andrew – and said, 'He is the neatest kid, most personable kid.' Why don't people know that? My thing to him right now is: 'Be that person on the court.' "

Calipari wondered aloud whether Harrison, the top-rated point guard in the Class of 2013 whose NBA stock has since dropped dramatically, is "taking this stuff too serious." Teammates say away from basketball, he's a jokester.

"But he internalizes a lot of stuff. I'm trying to get that out of him," Calipari said. "Derrick Rose, of all the players I coached, he cared more about how he was playing that even Andrew, but he dealt with it different. He wouldn't back up. He'd just go crazy. He'd play harder, he'd go block a shot, he'd do something, but he was so frustrated with himself. I said, 'You're going to be playing in the NBA so many (games), you can't do this game to game. You'll never last.'

"With Andrew, it's the same thing. He sometimes – when he gets in that mode – backs up instead of stepping on the gas."

It's worth pointing out that much of last season was a struggle for Harrison, too. Then came the postseason and Calipari's famous "tweak." He finally pushed the right button and his point guard took off. Harrison averaged almost two more assists per game in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments than the regular season, and his 20 points powered UK past undefeated Wichita State on the way to a national championship game.

"He's a sophomore," Calipari said, repeating himself for emphasis. "He's a sophomore. We all forget. Second year. He's learning. So much better than he was a year ago – not even close. By the end of the year, I'm looking for each of these kids to be the best version of themselves."

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.