Inside Harrell's boot-and-rally at Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Chris Jones just shook his head. Terry Rozier grinned. Mangok Mathiang couldn't help but smile, either.

They heard the story before, 11 months ago when their former teammate Russ Smith threw up in the middle of the University of Louisville's win at SMU.

That's why they weren't all that fazed by Montrezl Harrell's boot-and-rally in Tuesday's 63-55 win at Miami.

The 6-foot-8 All-American forward had already taken a spill earlier in the game, but the second one seemed more serious. He took a blow to the stomach when he collided with Miami guard Angel Rodriguez while chasing a loose ball. After about a minute on the floor, Harrell hopped up and ran back to the locker room with trainer Fred Hina.

"Everything, from drinking that Gatorade, felt like it had to come up, so I just ran here real fast and let it all out," Harrell said.

"It was my first time ever doing that. It was a spur of the moment."

Related:What we learned in Louisville's win at Miami

It took a minute after that for Harrell to collect himself. But as soon as he ran back onto the floor at BankUnited Center, he motioned to U of L coach Rick Pitino that he was ready to return.

Harrell collected 18 points and nine rebounds and only missed one minute in Louisville's hard-fought win.

"He's a tough guy," Pitino said. "His motor is just unbelievable. He plays a lot of minutes and still has the stamina to go after every ball. He's a unique young man."

Harrell was nonchalant about the whole incident, his memory still fresh from Smith leaving that team huddle at SMU, walking to the end of the bench and losing his cookies into a trash can.

Transcript:Pitino reviews U of L's win at Miami

After that game, Smith said he had a normal game day, eating his usual big breakfast and going through all the pregame routines. Just before game time, the All-American guard told Pitino he wasn't feeling well, but he would play if Louisville needed.

Smith dropped 26 points that night, adding to his larger-than-life Louisville lore.

But this time, Harrell's nausea wasn't so public. He did, however, put up similar numbers as his old friend Smith.

Harrell was a big part of helping Louisville (19-3, 7-2 in the ACC) win its fourth game in a row, and it was his fourth consecutive strong performance since his string of frustrating games to start league play.

This one, though, was special, if not a little unsettling.

"I just had to get fluids back into my system," Harrell said. "I came back out there to see that my team was still going strong."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).