Kentucky Players
#0, Ashton Hagans, So., G
On the intercepting the lob pass at Texas Tech …
“Actually, I had turned around and saw it was a turnover and then, as I’m running back, I see that he lobbed it in the air. So, I felt like I had time to get it and I just felt like it was there, and I just tried to make the play that I could make.”
On what he has learned about how to prepare for a team Vanderbilt …
“They’re going to come in here, give us their best shot. They’re all going to be ready going against Kentucky just because of the name that’s on your chest. But with us, we just gotta stay the course. We lost to a team like Evansville, a good team like Utah. Coming back to Vandy, they’re not as bad, but it’s going to be a dogfight like any other game.”
On whether he is feeling less pressure …
“I feel less pressure because of the confidence the coaches have in me, my teammates have in me and that I have in myself that I can go out there and make the plays I know I can make.”
On Kobe Bryant’s death …
“It was actually—we were in here with (head athletic trainer) Geoff (Staton), then I just looked down at my phone. I saw an Instagram post and I was like, ‘This can’t be true because CNN didn’t really say too much or (anything).’ Going in there with Geoff, he knows a lot, so he was like, ‘You know TMZ, CNN aren’t posting it. It might not be true.’ We were all hoping it wasn’t true. The biggest memory, that was my first jersey. My first time ever playing basketball, I played for the Lakers. He just had a big impact on a lot of guys, the way he fought. He wasn’t backing down from (anything). He was a hard worker. He got this game started. After MJ (Michael Jordan) left, he stepped in, had a big platform. Now it’s King (LeBron) James.”
On learning from Bryant’s work ethic …
“Just stay working. Just do what I do. Don’t listen to the outside noise. Stay the course. Listen to my family, coaches, teammates, whatever they got to tell me and just work hard. Practice, compete, compete until the wheels fall off and just do that and you’ll go be at your best.”
On Vandy losing 24 straight SEC games …
“Just gotta go in there, have the same mindset like when we play anybody. We lost some tough games, but we know they’re going to come in and give us their best shot. We gotta give them our best shot.”
On whether there is risk of looking ahead to Auburn …
“Just take it game by game. Just try to get each win that we can get. But on Saturday it’s going to be a big one. Tough environment, but we’ve been in that environment. We’ve been (to) Arkansas, Texas Tech, but now we’re going into Auburn, a real physical team on Saturday, but we’ve gotta get this game tomorrow too.”
On whether he was worried about getting called for a foul when he went for the steal on the final play Saturday …
“No, not at all. It was a little bit of time left on the clock, so they’re going to let us play it out. Once he blew past me, I’m like, ‘Nick probably is going to get the block,’ but once I saw him bring it down to the side I was like, ‘Oh, I got it.’ So, I just tried to hit it. It happened and we just came out with the win.”
#1, Nate Sestina, Gr., F
On what the team needs to be ready for on Wednesday …
“Anything can happen. Any team can come into Rupp and shock us. We have to be prepared to play for 40 minutes. Got to be able to hold leads. I know that’s something we’ve been focusing on. Just come ready to play and be ready to play for 40 minutes.”
On whether Vanderbilt’s struggles play into the minds of UK players …
“It doesn’t really, at least for me. This is my fifth year doing it. Teams that have struggled in conference play can always come back and shock people. My freshman year, we lost to an eight seed in the conference tournament. So, like I said before, anything can happenand this team can come in and shock us if we aren’t ready to play. But I think everybody is really locked in and we’ve really bought in to what we’re trying to do here and we’ll be good.”
On how Nick Richards’ strong play has affected the frontcourt rotation …
“It kind of makes me and EJ (Montgomery) work a little bit harder. Coach always says everybody’s minutes are up for grabs. But Nick has really solidified himself in that rotation and has earned the minutes that he gets. He played 39 minutes last game, out of 45, but he’s earned that. So, it’s kind of up to me and EJ to see, if Nick needs to get a break, I can play at the five, EJ can play at the five, it just depends on that. It’s created more of a rotation between me, EJ and Keion (Brooks Jr.).”
On if the team can use the loss to Evansville earlier this season as motivation, or if it’s too far back …
“That was November, right? So, it’s two months removed from me. Yesterday’s over, I don’t even think about it. For us, it’s more looking ahead than it is looking back. Obviously, you have to learn from mistakes and learn from games like that, but it’s more just focusing on who we’re playing now and not trying to live in the past. Just focusing on who we have tomorrow. And then once tomorrow’s over, focusing on who we have next.”
On the team playing so many close games …
“I think a lot of it is, all of us have to be disciplined. You might have an open shot with 15 seconds left on the shot clock, but we want to run the clock a little bit more. Just understanding and knowing in situations like that and just kind of focusing in on, at the end of the game, OK, there’s four minutes left, we have a 12-point lead. Let’s stretch it to 16 by the end of the game. Obviously, they’re probably going to make some shots, but trying to stretch that lead out a little bit, run some clock, we’ll be good.”
On if all of the close games can help when the postseason arrives …
“Yeah, I do. The NCAA Tournament is full of it. You might have a two seed versus a 15, and it shocks you because you’re not used to playing a school like that. Mid-major versus high major games all the time, it happens. For us, at the end of games, we’ve been in so many of them and it just comes down to, if we’re disciplined enough to finish those games when you’re up 10 with three minutes left, finishing the game then, it will help us out come March and April.”
On what he hopes to accomplish over the last 12 regular season games …
“Obviously, we want to continue to win, try to go 12-0. That’s big for us, win the regular season for the SEC and then go into the conference tournament on a huge win streak with a little bit of momentum moving forward. For me personally, I just want to soak it all in. I have 12 regular-season games in college basketball, then it comes to an end. I did the same thing last year. However many games I have left, I tried my best to soak it all in and just enjoy the experience and enjoy the ride. It’s a completely different beast here and I’m just trying to really enjoy the last couple of months that I have.”