Small town big man Montrezl Harrell holds key to Cards

Seth Greenberg will never forget the first time he traveled to North Edgecombe High, a small North Carolina school at the intersection of state highways 33 and 97, seven miles north of Tarboro's town center and about 70 miles east of Raleigh.

A church, William & Mary Hart Presbyterian, faces the school's northwest wall, separated by a small parking lot. A half block to the southeast, Big Jim's Food Mart, which sells ExxonMobil gasoline, overlooks the only stoplights for miles in any direction.

Greenberg, the Virginia Tech basketball coach at the time, was there to see Montrezl Harrell, a ­6-foot-8 North Edgecombe forward with a big smile and a 7-4 wingspan. It didn't take long for Greenberg to realize he was watching a future Division I standout in that one-story school's gymnasium.

"It was ridiculous," he recalled. "He dunked everything. He's like Inspector Gadget with those arms."

Five years later, Harrell has grown into perhaps the most important player on the University of Louisville team going into its NCAA Sweet 16 showdown with archrival Kentucky on Friday night in Indianapolis.

He averages 14 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and ranks among the nation's best in effective field-goal percentage and offensive rebounding percentage. He has evolved from a dunkcentric energy player to a more complete post scorer, and it couldn't have come at a more significant time for the Cardinals.

His development in the wake of forward Chane Behanan's dismissal from the team has helped U of L win 31 games and make its sixth Sweet 16 appearance in coach Rick Pitino's 13 seasons.

On Friday Harrell's play against Kentucky's vaunted frontcourt — the biggest in the tournament — will have enhanced meaning. The Cardinals' only true interior scorer has to produce, and he cannot get in foul trouble.

"Louisville's success or failure rests in his hands," said Greenberg, now a college basketball analyst for ESPN.

Basketball can turn a prospect into a pivotal piece in such a short time. It wasn't long ago that Harrell was following a lengthy path toward college.

He left tiny Tarboro after his junior year of high school, enrolling at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia, where he spent a year getting his academics in order and competing against top-flight prep school talent.

"His energy, effort and enthusiasm were contagious for his teammates and deflating for the opponent, even if it was our second five in practice," Hargrave coach A.W. Hamilton said.

Hargrave was also where Harrell started using the mouth guards that have become part of his image at U of L. He talks at a rapid pace. To slow him down, the Hargrave coaches came up with a solution.

"We gave him the mouthpiece because he used to talk so fast on the court that nobody could keep up with him," Hamilton joked, calling it the "great equalizer."

Harrell committed to play for Greenberg at Virginia Tech in March 2011, days after the Hokies upset top-ranked Duke in Cassell Coliseum. He signed eight months later and was slated to join a roster that already featured touted freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith.

But Virginia Tech fired Greenberg the following spring, and the fallout again changed Harrell's course.

Finney-Smith transferred to Florida. Harrell was granted a release from his letter of intent and, after several big-name schools chased him, he picked Louisville in June 2012.

The Hokies have gone 22-41 in the two seasons since, and Greenberg's replacement, James Johnson, was fired after the 2013-14 season.

"I thought we had something really special," Greenberg said. "I thought we had a chance to be one of the top one, two or three teams in the ACC. It makes you think 'What if?' "

Pitino called Greenberg the day Harrell chose U of L and asked him to name the biggest thing Harrell needed to work on. Greenberg told him defensive rebounding, but Pitino would later discover Harrell's appetite for progress in several areas.

Harrell spent hours on his jump shot and post moves, mimicking Hakeem Olajuwon and Carmelo Anthony and returning to the gym late at night to hone his game. He would take 200-300 shots each night.

"You have to become a basketball head (to get better)," Harrell said earlier this season.

He struggled against Manhattan in the Cards' NCAA Tournament opener, though his late block of a layup spurred a run that won a tight game. U of L's 66-51 victory over Saint Louis on Saturday was a similar struggle.

But a pair of so-so double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament won't erase the warp-speed upgrades he's made in several areas of his game. He's projected as a top-20 pick in most NBA mock drafts.

"He came in a great athlete, a great runner and dunker with very few skills and fundamentals," Pitino said. "He wasn't a very good passer. He wasn't a very good ballhandler. He didn't shoot the ball real well.

"He's really improved in all those areas. He's a very good passer. He's a very smart basketball player. He picks up scouting reports quickly and makes good plays."

That rapid improvement is no surprise to Greenberg, who fell in love with Harrell's potential on that first trip to see him play, just past Big Jim's and next to the Presbyterian church.

"I'm not shocked at all," Greenberg said. "I thought he'd be something special."

Reach Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).

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LOUISVILLE VS. KENTUCKY

9:45 p.m. Friday, Indianapolis, CBS-32