Kentucky Student Athletes
#5 Immanuel Quickley, So., G
0n being regular season SEC champions ...
“It feels good, all blessings and glory to God. We’ve been working hard all season and a lot of people doubted us but we believed in ourselves. Stayed true through the process and we got a dub to become regular season champs.”
On getting in rhythm today …
“There was a lot of fouling early, a lot of touch fouls. You can never blame a game on the refs you just have to keep playing. There will be lots of games like that, we felt there were a lot of fouls at Auburn, just two physical teams going at it so we kind of expected the quick whistles and had to adjust throughout the game. You know we work on free throws every day in practice, I work on it in my workouts as well and when shots aren’t falling, you know you’re going to need that especially in a tournament game. Sometimes you have an off night and you don’t want that to be the reason you go home.”
On taking down Auburn after losing to them earlier in the season …
“Auburn is a great and you have to give credit where it’s due. We beat them both times last year during the regular season and they beat us when it mattered in the Elite 8 game. You know the regular season great but if we see them again we have to be prepared for the battle.”
On having 12 rebounds tonight …
“There were a couple tough rebounds but some of them were just free throw rebounds so I was just trying to get in there and do anything to help my team win. Nick (Richards) was boxing out, so was EJ (Montgomery), all the guys were really so I was just trying to get in there and help my team.
#3 Tyrese Maxey, Fr., G
On the feeling of being an SEC champion …
“It feels great! I mean the hard work that we put in during the summer, fall, and now has finally paid off and we are not finished. Not done yet”
On what has clicked recently between the three of the guards on the court including Tyrese …
“We have been playing with each other since what, June? So, we know where everybody wants to bar, and everybody wants to spot. That just takes me back to a play that Ashton (Hagans) made, he drove baseline and Keion (Brooks Jr.) cut, and Keion dunked it. Those plays like that are just like energy builders. I mean, I think we went on a 10 on run, and I’m proud of my guys.”
On the best crowd this season, how did they make a difference between playing here vs. at Auburn …
“It definitely effected the game. I mean thank you BBN as always, they always come out and show support and show love, so we appreciate that.”
On Tyrese and Immanuel having a ton of rebounds …
“Coach Cal always tells us that we have to get rebounds. I mean we’re small, but we have to come up with balls he always says. I missed one late and he told me I better get every single one that comes off the rim. So that is what I tried to do. Immanuel (Quickley) did too as well, Nate (Sestina), everybody was rebounding.”
#1 Nate Sestina, Gr., F
On when Immanuel Quickley doesn’t shoot like usual, what the team has to do to make up for it …
“It just shows what kind of team we are. The guys stepped up today and coach needed that from us; me, E (Ej Montgomery), Nick (Richards), Keion (Brooks Jr.) and Johnny (Juzang). He’s just been talking to us about stepping up, and how we can’t just rely on Tyrese (Maxey), Ashton (Hagans), and Immanuel to score all of our points and get stops for us, so it was big for us today.”
On how much he helped out offensively especially when Nick (Richards) got into foul trouble …
“I just want to do something for us. I didn’t do a whole lot down at Auburn, so for us whether I was going to put the ball into the hoop, defend or try to stay out of foul trouble which I did until second half, but whatever I needed to do to help us out.”
On season journey as a whole …
“Every season is a rollercoaster and I’ve had seasons like this, you start out well or you start out poorly and finish strong. The best thing for me is just trying to finish out the season strong and finish the regular season strong and out on top and that’s what we’re trying to do. Of course, I’m trying to do the same thing. I had a little bit of a slump in January and I’m just trying to finish out this season strong.”
On the crowd …
“It was a big crowd. It was awesome. It’s a big-time crowd for us, gets us going and gets the momentum. We hit a couple shots and the crowds behind you, we had four minutes left and a little bit of a lead, the crowd started getting into it a little bit. They missed a couple shots and we got a couple more possessions and we kind of just put a fork in them.”
On having something to prove as a team …
“I don’t think there was much within our team, knowing we could do it. This is a team we might face in March or a team like this that were going to face in March. That’s what we’re playing for and a team like this today at home towards the end of the season to get a win like this is huge for us and carries a lot of momentum going into the next game and the next two.”