Suggesting Eloy Vargas could be the next Josh Harrellson seems ludicrous. After all, Vargas averaged just 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in his first season at Kentucky.

A closer look at Harrellson’s junior year numbers, however, suggests a Harrellson-like transformation for Vargas isn’t out of the question. Though it seems like an eternity ago, Harrellson averaged 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in limited action his junior season before turning into a senior rock on UK’s frontline and making the All-Southeastern Conference Tournament and All-NCAA East Region teams.

Could we see a similar transformation out of the former Florida Gator? John Calipari is hoping so.

“I hope he’s Josh Harrellson,” Calipari said Friday. “I hope he says, ‘I’m going to do what Josh did.’ That’s my hope.”

Good news, Coach: After an offseason of work and a wealth of experience, Vargas is thinking the same thing.

“That’s my mindset right now, to prepare and play the same way like Josh did,” Vargas said a couple of weeks ago at the start of the Dominican Republic National Team training camp.

Vargas has survived the first round of national team cuts and will head with Calipari and the Dominican Republic team to the 2011 FIBA Americas Tournament in Mar del Plata, Argentina, if he can survive the final cuts. This Monday and Tuesday, he will play in back-to-back exhibition games with the Dominican Republic against a professional team of former UK players.

Senior Eloy Vargas (1.5 points, 2.0 rebounds) actually put up better numbers in his junior season than Josh Harrellson (1.3 points, 1.2 rebounds) did his junior year. (photo courtesy of Chet White, UK Athletics)

Experience against some of the world’s best players in international competition, battling NBA veterans and Dominican Republic teammates Al Horford and Charlie Villanueva, and an exchange basketball trip with Reach USA in May should benefit Vargas for the upcoming 2011-12 season.

“Everybody’s a pro on this team,” said Vargas, who averaged 21.1 points and 14.1 rebounds at Miami-Dade College during the 2009-10 season. “Playing with pro guys like Al and Charlie will help me a lot.”

But Vargas isn’t relying on others to push him. He said he’s also taken the responsibility upon himself to follow in Harrellson’s footsteps and get his body into better shape, putting on five pounds of muscle this offseason while losing body fat.

“Last year, I think I was going through the motions,” Vargas said. “I didn’t do what the coaches say. I’m working harder than I’ve worked before so I can come out and help the team.”

If that’s the case, it’s music to Calipari’s ears. Calipari had a hand in Harrellson’s transformation a year ago when he sentenced him to a conditioning punishment for a pair of ill-advised tweets, but Calipari said there are no shortcuts to getting better.

“He did it himself,” Calipari said of Harrellson. “He made the changes. He changed his habits, he changed his approach, he changed his attitude, he changed his practices, and all of a sudden he got in the game and it started working and he started thinking, ‘Oh gosh, I wish I would have done this years ago.’ ”

Having said that, Calipari said Vargas has to go out in games and prove he’s a changed player. Calipari said he’s noticed a stronger Vargas at the Dominican Republic practices at the Joe Craft Center, but Calipari remains in a “we’ll see” approach.

“You’ve got to get on that court here at Kentucky and perform,” Calipari said. “There is no, ‘Boy, he looks good’ stuff. No one really cares.”

For what it’s worth, Horford has been pleasantly surprised with what he’s seen out of Vargas, who has been limited in practice by a sprained ankle (Vargas said he’s at about 90 percent because of the injury). Horford likes Vargas’ attitude and willingness to learn.

“He’s running the floor real well,” said Horford, who helped lure Vargas to Florida, where he played one season. “That’s something I haven’t seen in the past from him. He’s rebounding the ball. He’s finishing stronger in the low post. We’ll see what happens, but I think this is going to benefit him for when the season comes around.”

Kentucky, despite the return of All-SEC forward Terrence Jones and the addition the nation’s No. 1 signing class, could use Vargas’ help up front with the loss of Harrellson. Jones and freshmen Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer figure to eat up a lot of the minutes, but there isn’t a lot of depth in the paint behind those three.

Dominican Republic assistant coach and former NBA head coach Del Harris said you can’t teach Vargas’ 6-foot-11, 244-pound physical attributes. If Vargas can capitalize on those physical gifts, he could play an important role this season.

“Running the court doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a huge talent, especially when you have to be in that 7-foot stratosphere,” Harris said. “He has good hands. It’s really important. Sounds simple enough, but running the court, catching the basketball at 7 feet are the two basics. The rest of it you can learn.”