Senior Day Special - Ramon Harris: the straw that stirs the drink

Not much was known about Ramon Harris when he arrived mid-season during Tubby Smith's last campaign with Kentucky. All we knew was that the "Alaskan Assassin" was the 4A Player of the year and unfortunately his freshman year we did not get to know him that well. Ramon only played 32 minutes in his freshman season.

Ramon stayed with Kentucky during the change in coaches from Smith to Gillispie and saw his playing time increase significantly. Ramon found himself crack the starting lineup for Gillispies Cats and started 53 games over the two seasons. Harris would never be the guy to put up big numbers, but he played steady defense in his time on the court and when he was in the game, the rest of the team seemed to play a little bit better.

Not that Ramon did not have his moments to shine. He tallied 16 points in the infamous VMI game. His 10 boards against UNLV in the NIT. His 7 assist game against Creighton. But Harris was not tabbed to be a star in the UK system. He developed a reputation as a hard nosed player and a tough defender that was not afraid to get "down and dirty".

That aspect of his game served him when John Calipari came to town and the great influx of new talent. Not too many players would accept the demotion from starter to occasional player gracefully, but Harris worked hard when he got the opportunity to play and gradually carved his niche on the team. Harris has been praised this year by Calipari for his defensive tenacity and he has played well in his appearances as a defensive stopper.

Like Krebs and Stevenson, Ramon has experienced the rough times of being a Wildcat over the last few seasons. You can argue that last year was the about as low as the Wildcats have been in the past two decades. Now he is just a few games away from being a part of helping Kentucky regain it's rightful spot atop the mountain.