Kentucky Student-Athlete Quotes
#4 Nick Richards, Jr, Forward
On back–to-back dominant games …
“I felt pretty confident out there. My teammates put me in the right spots to be successful on the court. All praise goes to them, they are the ones that are trying to help me play confident.”
On how vital it was to come back and have a good performance after the Louisville game …
“I think it was vital for us just to come back and get a win. Just to show the country that we are not just going to come out and play against Louisville just because we need to. We are tryingto come out and get better and try to get wins.”
On talking back and forth with opponent players …
“There are sometimes that you shouldn’t even worry about going back and forth with players, you should just be worried about what’s going on with the scoreboard. We were up most of the time and whatever happened, happened.”
On his thoughts about Nick Richards performance tonight …
#1 Nate Sestina, Gr., Forward
“Nick (Richards) played really well, his first half was incredible; he squared up in the post, shot jump shots, rebounded the ball very well, ran up and down the court. He did a lot of stuff people really don’t pay a lot of attention to, when he ran the floor, he opened it up for our guards to drive off of him and his offense was going. So that was something we were able to go to, especially early in the game and his was big for us today.”
On how important it was for the Kentucky big men to play well today …
“We have been doing that the past couple of games, just emphasizing the post, posting up hard, keeping your feet moving. KP (Kenny Payne) talked about it earlier today before the game about that they were going to fight us in the post, and we would have to fight them in the post. If our feet were stuck in the mud, we are not going to get the ball or a good position, so we were going to keep moving, keep our feet moving. Nick(Richards) did a really good job of that early and he was able to get the ball wherever he wanted it to.”
On how big Immanuel Quickley’s three pointers were in transition ….
“He is, we do a drill at the end of practices where we shoot in transition, everybody’s legs are tired of running it up and down for hours during practice and that’s the last thing you do and he makes fifteen in a row most of the time, it’s actually pretty incredible and he’s our go to guy at the end of the games when legs are tired. We understand and trust that he is going to make those shots.”
On Immanuel Quickley’s corner three pointer that bounced around the backboard and went in …
“I was on the floor, I was trying to get the ball, but it’s another big shot, it bounces up and hits the top of the backboard and it’s another momentum changer he just hits. For us to make shots like that and get our momentum going and in the right direction is big for us.”
On his thoughts on Ashton Hagan’s injury …
“I actually didn’t know until I saw him over at the team huddle, but yeah he’s our guy, he’s our go to guy on offense and defense, he gets stuff moving, he gets us the ball on defense and I hope everything is alright with him.”
#5 Immanuel Quickley, So., Guard
On his performance in the last two games …
“Yeah. Just been spending extra time in the gym. Appreciate these guys, they’ve been giving me the confidence to play great. My teammates find me a great spot so, just a little bit of everything combined.”
On the reason for his increase in confidence in shooting coming back …
“Yeah, since we haven’t had school, I’ve been able to get into the gym a lot more. Actually, worked out once at (midnight). And I’ll still be getting a lot of sleep because we don’t practice till later in the day. So that’s been helping me. And really just working with my coaches, staying in the gym and staying hungry.”
On how nice it is to know that they have back to back high scoring games …
“It’s always great to play here at Rupp. I love the rims at Rupp.You know they’re really soft. The home crowd always helps, you know. Everybody is cheering for you. So that’s really been a help to, I just really love playing here.”
On his reaction to Ashton’s (Hagans) injury …
“I didn’t even the him play. I don’t even think he knew what happened. When he was limping though, it definitely dropped my heart. I’m sure everybody was holding their breath a little bit. Because he’s basically the heart and soul of our team. Offensively, defensively, he’s a leader. Everything he does, everything works out.”
On hat to do if Ashton (Hagans) isn’t in the game …
“Just try to pick up the little stuff that he does. He’s really active on defense, trying to get steals and stuff. He gets everybody else involved, so you know we’re gonna have be an even better passing team than we already are. He’s a leader ya know. So, we’re gonna have to talk, pick up little stuff that he does, and hopefully everybody together will make up for that.”