Kentucky Players
#5, Immanuel Quickley, So., G
On Ashton Hagans’ status for Saturday …
“I’m not sure. I just know from what everybody else knows that he took a hard spill. I think it started from, I can’t remember what game it was, he took a hard spill on his back and I think it hurt him more at LSU. So, we hope we can get him back. But if not, we’ve just got to be ready to go.”
On what Hagans brings to the team …
“His defense, his leadership, his toughness plays. He makes winning plays down the stretch, whether it’s offense or defense. Getting guys shots, things like that. Just that toughness he brings on a day in, day out basis.”
On how the team is different without Hagans …
“I think we’re the same in a lot of ways. Being able to be versatile, offensively and defensively. Differently, he’s more of a drive first, we probably shoot more jumpers than he does, but just as effective. He can make plays off the dribble. I think we can make plays as well. We just have to make up for that toughness and that defensive stuff that he brings, those winning plays, we’ve got to make up for that.”
On how good it felt to see shots dropping at LSU …
“It’s always good when shots fall. It opens up everything else offensively and then it also helps on defense. It’s harder to get stops when you’re constantly running back on defense after every missed shot. But if the ball goes in, you can set your defense up and things like that.”
On Nick Richards’ status …
“From what I know, Nick is pretty good. I think he’s practicing today. We’ll see how things go and we’ll move from there.”
On what Richards means to this team …
“Just a 7-footer who can do everything. Not every team can say they’ve got somebody like that. Can block shots, I think he had six or seven blocked shots (against LSU). That’s not even counting the shots that he changed that he didn’t block. His presence in the middle is huge for us offensively and defensively.”
On what he knows about Florida …
“Florida is a really good team. Just from my experience, since I’m a sophomore, I played against them a good amount of times last year. They played us tough both times, really well coached, they’ve got a lot of talented players, players that I played against in high school as well. It’s going to be a good game. They’re really tough, really skilled.”
On how this team has faced adversity this season …
“Adversity, this team has been really good this year. We’ve had a lot of stuff, there were a lot of injuries early in the season, we overcame that. Just little things, nicks and bruises and stuff like that. We’ve been able to overcome that stuff. If Ashton can’t play, we’re going to try to bring everything that he usually brings and try to add bits and pieces from every player to round up what he brings.”
#4, Nick Richards, Jr., F
On his ankle …
“I think my ankle’s pretty good. I’m just going day by day, getting treatment on it every day, listening to my trainer and that’s basically it.”
On the odd circumstances of his injury …
“I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think that’s ever happened to anybody, but what are you going to do about it?”
On his All-America campaign …
“I think it was pretty fun. To have the whole entire team involved in it, it’s just something that we enjoy doing. The media guys, they enjoy having fun with us, just promoting us, stuff like that.”
On the idea that there’s an All-America campaign for him and how far he has come …
“I just think it’s a blessing. All the hard work that I’ve been doing over the years is paying off, but at the same time I just couldn’t be here without my teammates and my coaches and all the people who have been in my circle since day one.”
On whether he will practice today …
“Yeah, I am. I’m practicing today. We’re just going to see how it feels in practice and then we’ll figure it out from there.”
On how painful the injury was …
“It was pretty painful. When I watched the video, I was really surprised that I didn’t break my ankle, actually. During the game, it had a lot of pain and right after the game I just started getting treatment on it trying to hopefully fix it.”
On the prospect of playing without him or Ashton Hagans …
“I think the only thing we’re going to have problems with—the bench, there’s not really that many guys on the bench. Overall, I actually think that we’re going to be the same team. Guys are going to live up to the moment. They always step up for their roles. I don’t think there will be any issues when it comes to how we play.”
On the adversity they have faced this year …
“A lot actually. Not just with injury, but just with guys just trying to be consistent, just trying to stay in the right frame of mind. But, you know, that’s just the basketball season. Every basketball team has their own adversity that they go through. It’s just who figures it out and who’s the team that’s able to keep going, push through it is going to the better team.”
On Leah Edmond dusting her trophies in the video she posted about his All-America campaign …
“I thought that was pretty funny.”
On if there was a moment this season when he realized he was one of the best big men in the country …
“Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking about trying to be the best at my position. I was just trying to get as many wins as possible. I know I said before the season I wanted to be the best big man, but I’m just trying to go out there and play my best and just try to get as many wins as possible for my team, try to get a good seeding for March and just try to win the tournament.”