The De-Evolution of Montrezl Harrell

Way back in the summer of 2012 members of the Big Blue Nation were introduced to the young man pictured above. The player was Montrezl Harrell, a top 100 player with loads of potential, who had been released from his letter of intent to Virginia Tech after Seth Greenberg was relieved of his duties. Among the list of the potential landing spots were Louisville and Kentucky but with his high school coach joining Pitino's staff the choice was pretty clear. Monrezl choose to become a Cardinal in early June and the symptoms of L1C4 began to manifest shortly thereafter. Montrezl (Freshman Year) As a freshman on the 2013 national champion Cardinals, Montrezl's playing time was limited and the spread of the Cardinal virus was held relatively in check. Against the Cats that year Harrell was held to just 7 points in 23 minutes while taking on a freshman Willie Cauley-Stein and Nerlens Noel. It was a solid start for the power forward and it looked like the Cards could have another well-respected rival in the mold of Gorgui Dieng or Peyton Siva. Montrezl (Sophomore Year) However, with Peyton and Gorgui leaving the Cardinal program as graduates rather than being booted off as is Cardinal tradition there was nobody left to mentor young Montrezl and the L1C4 virus truly began to transform the once mild-mannered teen. Gone was the reserved Montrezl Harrell. All that remained was the newly dubbed "Trezz", a moniker coined by the Greater Louisville Society of DJs. The new Trezz flexed at every opportunity and  doubled his points per game. However against Kentucky and Willie Cauley-Stein in Rupp the story stayed the same. 6 points in 21 minutes. In the second meeting with the Cats he finished with 15 but fouled out and had to watch from the sidelines as UK rallied to win. It was assumed he'd end the spread of the L-mutation and leave for the NBA. That didn't happen and now L1C4 has really taken hold. Montrezl Circa December 2014 There have been few documented cases of L1C4 as astonishing as the one that has transformed Montrezl into Trezz. A tell-tale line beard has now manifested which illustrates there is no turning back and Harrell suffers from full blown L1C4. The dreads that have long plagued Louisville DE Lorenzo Mauldin also appear to be spreading. The only hope for Montrezl is another domination by Willie to send his record against Kentucky to 1-3.   Had Montrezl picked UK two years ago things would probably have been very different. Primarily Harrell would be in the NBA right now because his coach would have done what was right for the kid and sent him on to change his life. Thus it's a bit difficult to see the kid who once held such potential fall prey to the illness that consumes so many that set foot on the Louisville campus.  #LouisvilleHateWeek