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A little after 5 p.m. this evening, top five recruits Aaron and Andrew Harrison will be making their decision on where to attend college in 2013. Rumors have it that the twins will either announce they are going to Maryland or Kentucky. Obviously, Kentucky makes sense thanks to a reputation for sending players to the NBA, but why Maryland?
The Harrison’s have known Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon for six years now and have developed a strong relationship. The Twins also have family in Baltimore. However, there is another very curious influence on Aaron and Andrew’s decision. This factor is the relationship the Harrison family has with Under Armour.
It is odd to think that what brand of sneaker a team wears can determine where someone goes to college, but that actually seems to be the case with the Harrison’s. The twins have developed a relationship with Chris Hightower, the man in charge of basketball marketing at Under Armour. Coincidentally, or maybe not so coincidentally, Under Armour also sponsors Maryland athletics and sponsored the twins’ AAU team.
According to Eric Prisbell of USA Today, Aaron Harrison Sr. would only allow Hightower to talk to his sons before September. Before that, not even coaches were allowed to contact Aaron and Andrew directly.
“He is my saving grace that there are some upright, straight, humane people in the basketball business,” Harrison Sr. said of Hightower. “He is the one guy who can call Aaron and Andrew.
“They text him, ‘Hey, Chris, appreciate what you sent us, thanks a lot. Hey, Chris, do you have a black hoodie? Does Under Armour make this or that?’”
Under Armour is clearly trying to take the same approach with Maryland that Nike took with Oregon. Under Armour is attempting to attract young stars by sponsoring their AAU team and developing a relationship with youngsters that may be profitable down the road. However, somehow Hightower has managed to be the only one to gain the Harrison family’s trust.
There are many questions this relationship brings up. How has Hightower managed to strike gold with his fortuitous friendship with the twins? How much influence does Hightower have to get the Twins to play for Maryland? Is this relationship one that will draw the NCAA watchdog out to sniff around?
Andrew and Aaron have a very important decision to make at 5 p.m. Make no mistake about it, this decision is THE decision in the class of 2013 because the two best back court players will go to one school and instantly make them a national championship contender. If the twins go to Kentucky, it will make sense to most. If they go to Maryland, this relationship the Harrison’s have with Under Armour will be something worth talking about.
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