Kentucky Basketball Press Conference
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEMORIAL COLLESIUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
JUNE 4, 2019
Head Coach John Calipari
Opening statement on the upcoming satellite camps tour…
“We’re going to be in London (Kentucky) today. Harrison (County), South Oldham, Christian Academy in Louisville, Corbin, E-town (Elizabethtown), Bardstown, Brandenburg, Summerset, Flemingsburg. So we’ll be all over the state. This is a great time, the satellite camps, where we get to get into communities around the state and have our players really touch the fans. So it ends up being good stuff. Let me congratulate Mitch (Barnhart) on (being named) Athletic Director of the Year in the Sports Business Journal. The four guys that he was going against, and for that kind of award, it tells you what he’s doing here and the job he does on all fronts, so congratulations to him.”
On more new additions to the team …
“I’m really happy with where we are right now. If there’s anything that could help us and also help the player, then I would consider that. This group, the three guys that obviously considered leaving to go to the NBA, Ashton (Hagans) who I think will have a breakthrough year based on the fact that he gets it now. He’s going to be much more focused on things. You talk about Nick (Richards), I fully expect this to be his breakout year. The opportunity, the minutes, and where he is maturity wise and physically. He only started playing basketball when he was 14. He wasn’t like these other guys playing since like eight and nine. This kid started when he was 14. Then EJ (Montgomery), who went through the whole process, which I was happy he did, could’ve left his name in and would’ve had a chance for a first-round draft pick. It wasn’t in the position that he thought it would be in, or wanted it to be in, so he comes back. I told him, ‘This thing’s on you now. What’s happened for PJ (Washington) and the changes that he made for him and our team, I expect the same if not more from you.’ With Immanuel (Quickley) coming back, you’ve got Brad (Calipari) and Zan (Payne). I’ll talk more about Brad later. Then new guys coming in. I just hit Johnny Juzang. He’s not in yet because his school’s not out. He’s got another two weeks before he gets here. From Tyrese (Maxey), Kahlil (Whitney), Keion Brooks, to Dontaie (Allen). He (Allen) was shooting yesterday which was surprising coming off of the car accident and then the knee stuff, which was pretty good. We’ve got a good core group and it should be interesting again. Look, recruiting never stops, if you ask me. It just doesn’t stop because no one in the history of this, for 10 years, has tried to change the team every single year and had to go through what this program has gone through, not by design. If you’re doing right by the kids, you’re trying to help and promote and yet it hasn’t set us back on our heels. I would say more NCAA wins (than anyone), more Sweet 16s, more Elite Eights. Would I have liked to have won more national titles? Yeah, I’d like to have had 10 since I’ve been here. What we do and how we advance and how we give ourselves a chance and how these kids improve. Now it’s like, OK, how do we just continue to move this program?”
On similarities between Willie Cauley-Stein and Nick Richards …
“Yes (they’re similar), in that they both started playing basketball later than you would expect. Shoot, Willie was playing football. Those similarities are there, but they’re different kinds of players. Both of them. If Nick is in the kind of position that is physically and mentally ready to do this, he blocks shots and rebounds above the rim. Be that guy. I think the game is changing a little bit where we’ve got to get our bigs trailing a little bit, spacing the court a little bit. This could be one of the longest teams that I’ve coached. I looked at Keion, and shoot he looks at least 6-9, maybe 6-10. I mean, he’s long. So, we’re going to have a pretty long (group). When you talk the guys that we have, a pretty long team too.”
On his subbing with Nick Richards …
“I sub when you make a mistake. I sub you immediately. If you miss a shot, you’re out. If you turn (it over) – that’s all bulls—. But what it is, is your competitive spirit. Are you adding to the team? What’s happening to the game when we stick you in because we are here to win. His opportunity, like all these guys, there’s no – you’re responsible for you, take what you want. That’s what this program has always been about. You take what you want. You want to be a starter? Take the job. You want to be a guy that can score baskets? Then score baskets. ‘Well, if you would let me shoot more.’ Come on now. We’ve got 10 other guys here. He hasn’t been treated any different than any other player here and now he’s got this opportunity in front of him. He’s going to have to go and take it, but it’s still an opportunity. It’s his job to go take it. I believe he will. I believed in the kid probably in the first two years more than he believed in himself. I’m not the only one. I think a lot of people are saying with his size and length, who’s like him in the country? There is nobody. There’s no one like him in the country, so now it’s his chance.”
On Brad Calipari entering the transfer portal …
“He is still walking through it. I didn’t know all the stuff went crazy. He puts his name in the portal – how does the media get it within a minute? That’s supposed to be for colleges, not for the media. But the media, I’m researching that. How does the media have all of this? It was out within 30 seconds of him putting his name in. The night before he says, ‘Dad, if I want to do this, how do I do it?’ I said you have to put your name in the portal to get started. It was a two-minute conversation. The next morning, he put his name in without telling me, his mom, his sisters, anybody. He just put it in there. He didn’t think anything. But the media got it within 30 seconds and all of a sudden it is trending nationally and Cal and his son are having a fist fight and he is leaving. What? I mean, you know, do you blame him? He was in here three times yesterday working out. Do you blame him for wanting to play more and with knowing who is here? Has he gotten better? Absolutely, he has gotten better. So now, he can look around, and I even told him to look at Division II. What’s wrong with that? Go to a place where you are well coached, where you get a chance, where you are in a good league. You know Division II basketball, they’re just a little smaller, but you’ve got talented guys. He may end up coming back. He’s in the lodge and in classes, so he may come back. But, I’m proud that he graduated in three years. It took me six. I mean, he graduated in three years and is playing every day against guys like this and he survives and he thrives and he gets better. I mean, what he’s taking from this is his commitment to how he trains, how he eats, what he does, it’s going to help him with anything, especially after basketball when it is done. Take that and what your sister did, which is the same thing, and shift it over to here and you’ll be unique and special at whatever you want to do.”
On how Ellen Calipari is handling the potential of Brad Calipari moving …
“Well, mom said if he leaves she’s going with him. So, I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Hope she was kidding. Maybe she wasn’t. The ideal thing would be for him to have more of an opportunity here, but you know, I’d love to do it, but that’s my own son. It has to be earned and you have to deserve it and you have to take what you want, and the other guys try to take what he wants, and if he is better than you then I am playing him. If you’re not doing your thing and you’re changing the game, guess what, I’m taking you out. This thing is about winning and you being responsible for you. The hardest thing here is, when you’re not playing enough or a lot and then you get your opportunity to play, you’re still held to a high standard. But, that’s why guys leave here and none of the stuff phases them after. They leave here and they weren’t lied to in the process. I say this, and you know some of the families would be mad at their coach. Well, if you’re mad at him either he wasn’t telling the truth or you wanted to hear a lie and he told it to you. You wanted to hear something that he was willing to tell you and now you’re mad at him for telling you what you wanted to hear. Don’t be mad; just move on and go on. So, I look at this and just tell you that, again, for my son and all of these kids, this is hard here. It’s not easy, and if you’re not willing to work, you should not come here. There is someone in there that’s working and if you think, ‘Well, I should play because–‘ no. You take what you want and it’s a competitive environment. We’re not recruiting you and never recruiting again. But, if you’re afraid of anybody in this program, you’re not afraid of anybody up there (in the NBA)? I mean, this stuff is a competitive environment and you’ve got to want this, and then you take what you want.”
On Hamidou Diallo’s development in his first season in the league …
“He got injured, and here is what is tough about that league: It’s an unforgiving league. Fate intervenes and you get injured and the guy that stepped in for you starts playing out of his mind. Well, now you’ve got to wait your turn. That’s why I said you can’t make the club in the tub. Don’t get injured. But, you get injured, it happens. I think he is going to be fine. I’m anxious to see Jarred Vanderbilt and what happens to him when he is healthy and able to play and do some stuff. Obviously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the best rookies, and Kevin Knox is 19 now. He is probably the youngest rookie in the NBA, and I told the Knicks it is going to take him time, but when he breaks through, he is a 6-9 kid that can score, and they’re getting him to rebound, and drive the ball and all of this stuff that we started here that they’re getting done. So, I think that whole core of guys – and Hami is one of my favorites simply because this stuff was really hard for him. He never wavered. We never wavered. I never wavered with him. I’m anxious, and I even said, ‘Wow injured were you?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I was injured but, you know.’ But, the guy that started playing for him – I think his name was (Dennis) Schroder – started playing out of his mind. Like, he looked like Lou Williams from the Clippers. I’m saying, it’s how that league is. It’s an unforgiving league.”
On if EJ Montgomery needs to establish an identity as a player to improve his NBA stock …
“You know, he will be a difference maker on both ends because he can block shots, he’s quick to the ball. He’s got to get physically stronger and mentally a little tougher. He’s got to be in some wars, all of those kinds of things. The upside for him is ridiculous, and I said it many times, I’ve got to find more minutes for him last year. I said it over and over. He’d come out and do stuff and I’d say he deserves more minutes, but it’s hard. The two guys he played behind were men, like grown men. He physically and mentally wasn’t where those two were. I told the people that were with him, you have any team call me and I will tell them why he should’ve played more. I would have supported him in any way because I think his upside is as much as (anyone). I’ve had about four or five guys maybe I would say were beyond where he is, but there’s not many that have the upside that he has.”
On balancing minutes between returning big guys …
“You got two guys. What if one of them gets hurt right now? Now you’re playing four guards, which I haven’t done before but I’d try to figure it out. Nate (Sestina) right now – we forgot to mention Nate – Nate’s hurt, just got out of the boot, so he hasn’t really run yet. I expect good things from Nate, the way he scores the ball, stretches the defense, athletically, he’s physically strong. Yesterday he came into my office, I said ‘Hey, you just get in?’ ‘Yeah’ ‘Did your parents bring you down?’ He goes, ‘No.’ Oh I forgot, you’re older. You drive yourself around.”
On how different Sestina is from Reid Travis …
“Different players, but physically strong, great kid and great mentality about this. Knows he’s gotta work, nothing’s going to be given to him. He wants to see how good he can be and the way you get better here is the day-to-day grind, mastering your craft, falling back on that work, playing competitively every day in practice and every day in the summer. Should be fun.”
On whether he expects Sestina to have the same locker room influence like Travis did as an older guy …
“Every team is different. I think this is gonna be a great group again. You can’t come here and be totally into yourself, or it’s all about me taking all the shots or somebody who’s aloof and stands off. You can’t be in this program and make that. There are other programs where one or two guys shoot all the balls and do all the other stuff — that’s not here. It’s just not here. So I would expect us to have a good crew of kids and that’s why by the end of the year we’re playing our best basketball. We’ll keep growing because you’ve got a bunch of good guys that know the staff’s in it for them. They need to be in it for each other and your team eventually gets to where they need to go by the end of the year.”
On expectations for Immanuel Quickley this season …
“He played well, shot the ball well. He’s gotten better. Again, I expect him to have a breakout year. He did some really good stuff last year. A lot of this for these young kids is just a mentality you have to have. You miss a shot, amnesia, next, I’m playing. But it’s hard when you’re young like these kids. We’re doing this with young, freshmen. But he’s one of the great teammates, terrific. Got so much better defensively, like so much better defensively. And he’s getting a better feel for this. One of the things that I’m a little concerned about in this great game that we coach, kids are starting to just be about individual workouts. My own son, Brad, that cone has no arms. You need to play pickup basketball like we all grew up with. So, you play pickup, which meant you might play with five guys,or four other guys that you don’t even know. Or they’re your teammates that you just take your whole team to places to play, but you gain a feel for the game. How to space the court. You can’t do it in a one-on-one workout. You just can’t. I mean, your skills get better and you master your skills, but playing pickup basketball and having some basic rules — you can’t shoot it until everybody cross the court, which makes everybody run, offense does not call the fouls, defense calls the foul. If he doesn’t call the foul and he fouled the crap out of you, down on the other end, foul the crap out of him. So now we’re not calling it if that’s how we’re gonna play. You learn to communicate and learn to deal with situations that way. The spacing of the court, you’re playing pick-and-roll or isolation or throwing it ahead and driving. You can do all that stuff. And I want this group to be playing pickup three days a week, maybe more. You need the individual work, you need to master your skills, you need to master the things that you want to use in the season. And there are some things you don’t do well. Well, work on those. But the reality of it is this is a game played five-on-five. This is a game that’s played with chemistry. Communication skills have gone down. You say, ‘Why?’ Because everybody’s like this (on their phones). So when you’re on the court, you won’t believe this, you can’t bring your phone out there. You’re not texting a guy, ‘I went backdoor I was wide open, why didn’t you throw it to me?’ Bing. ‘I did not see you.’ Bang. ‘You should’ve seen me.’ ‘Well I didn’t see you.’ So you’re on that basketball court, your phones are on the side, and you’re playing and you learn. You’re communicating. You’re talking to one another. ‘LOL.’ What? What are you talking about? So I want these guys to play, to play against each other, to learn about each other. I want guard combinations to be different. Let the bigs guard each other. Let different guys play one of those four spots so maybe you have a three-man playing as a four, you just stretch the court, you learn different things.”
On the Southeastern Conference lifting its ban on alcohol sales …
“I’m not a big drinker. I don’t drink much. It’s the way of the world right now. I’ll roll with whatever (the university) wants to do. Obviously, we have students in that building who are underage and shouldn’t be drinking. I would just hope our fans kind of police each other if it goes that route. I’ve been in arenas that are obnoxious. There are teams that we will not play because it was so obnoxious. I’m not putting my team, myself, my staff or my family through that. We’re not going back there and playing. So I hope that if we do go this route, it doesn’t lead to that. We have the classiest fans. We’ve given standing ovations to other players on opposing teams because they played so well. I’m not sure if you’re totally (inebriated) that you would do that. I don’t know. I just hope it doesn’t change what we’re about. We beat the No. 1 team in our building and our fans don’t rush the court. We’re supposed to win, that’s what we’re about. They cheer for us and don’t boo the other team or coach. We have a unique environment. If that adds to it and makes it even better, fine. If it takes away, then I’d be disappointed.”
On returning a starting point guard for the second time in his UK tenure …
“It’s nice to have players back. We have four really quality players back. The last time we had four players back who were quality players like that was 2014-15. I enjoy coaching guys two, three and four years. In this, what I do, you just want people when they leave to be prepared and ready for success. That’s the whole thing. We’ve had some guys leave too early, but it wasn’t my choice. They were counseled, ‘It might be too early. You might want to think about this.’ But, when they decide to do it, you’re all over it to help them. But, it’s nice to have guys back. I do hope my son comes back, to be honest, because I’d like to coach him another year. On the other side, if he chose to leave, I’d be at as many games as I could be at to watch him.”
On the 2019 recruiting class being capable of interchanging positions …
“The game is going that way. How many post-up basketball players do they have in the NBA right now? Those guys don’t want to be in there either. How many true, true point guards are in those positions, or are they scoring, playmaking guards? There are no set-up point guards, they just don’t have it anymore. I watch Eric Bledsoe, who is one of my favorites just because he absolutely was a competitive spirit, fighter, calm kind of guy who occasionally got a little bit crazy. You see him now with the ball in his hands. It’s like Jamal Murray, ball in his hands. They can do that because they learned to play basketball here. They can play off the ball if you need them to score. They can play on the ball. That’s interchangeable. Twos, threes and fours should be interchangeable. You’re stretching the court out. When Tyler (Herro) came here, ‘jump shooter.’ You can’t be that guy. You’ve got to be able to get to the rim. You’ve got to be able to bounce it and make plays at the basket, because if that’s all you do is stretch the court and shoot jumpers, they will take that away. If you can’t shoot, they’re not playing you. So now, it’s five versus four. Now, they will play everybody. Can you put it on the floor? That’s why it’s interchangeable. Even when you’re the four man, you’ve got to be able to put the ball on the floor. You’ve got to be able to get the ball and get by people, get to the rim to draw players for (3-pointers). The NBA right now is going to drive it, pass it, pass it, drive it, pass it, shoot it. It’s random, that’s how they’re playing. A lot of the game has become random.”
On the difference between structured training and playing in pickup games …
“In a pickup game where there are no real rules or officiating and a guy plays so loose and calm, you look at him and say, ‘Wow.’ My point is that’s the mindset you have to be in when you’re playing. The problem is the other guy is fighting like crazy, talking, doing stuff. You’re having to play with a little more structure. If that takes away from you as a player, it’s your responsibility to figure, ‘How do I get back in that mode where I’m swinging freely? How do I get back in that? Every time I make a mistake I’ve got to come out, I’ve got to quit.’ Stop. Those are excuses. How do you get into that mindset? Playing freely. That’s why I want them to play pickup. I watch you in a pickup game, you’re unbelievable. I hate to tell you, but I’m going to be watching every game. You better figure out how you play with me watching, because I watch. That is all what I’m talking about, how you get to where you understand, ‘Wow, I could be this good.’ There are guys who I coach where I say, ‘You don’t even know how good you can be. You’re holding yourself back.’ You can use every excuse. I just read a great email of a minor league baseball coach. No excuses, no complaining. How could I ever complain about anything? What’s happened for me in my life, I’m coaching at Kentucky. I say to my players, ‘You’re playing at Kentucky. You have an opportunity for the rest of your life. What would you complain about? What would you make excuses about?’ You have that habit. It’s always somebody else and I’m making an excuse why I’m not what I’m supposed to be, whether it’s the coach, whether it’s another player, whether it’s the officials, whether you’re tired. It’s an excuse. You’re at Kentucky. (Thirty-five) guys have gotten drafted, (19) in the lottery, $2 billion in contracts, take what you want. No one holds you back. You’ve got a coaching staff that promotes everybody, not one or two guys. ‘You two shoot all the balls, the rest of you set screens and that’s it. I know we told you two you’d shoot too, but now that you’re here, you can’t. You’re going to set screens.’ That’s not here. If you can score 30 points in a game or 40 points in a game, go do it. You (aren’t) taking 50 shots to do it, because we’ve got other guys here who can play. You’ve had guys in the country that do that with one player, three guys transfer. Whatever you want to hear, someone will tell you in this profession I’m in. If you want to get lied to, you will be lied to and then deal with it. Don’t be mad, don’t make excuses. You understood what you were walking into; it’s what you wanted to hear. This is different. Think of any of our players. If they’re making excuses or complaining, stop. I read that this morning and I said that should be my thing. More than anything else, I don’t want to hear your excuse. I don’t want to hear you complain. We don’t do that here. How do I get better? What’s the next step? My staff and me, we should be the same way. We’re at Kentucky. Are you kidding me? They want me to stay here, which is amazing.”
On his new contract …
“The university talked to me most of the year. ‘We want you to be here the rest of your career. How do we do this? What do we do? Let’s sit down and talk.’ And that was ongoing. I get calls every year from different people. And you know why I’ll talk? At the end of the day, I may be able to help someone else. If I know that I can help somebody else who’s helping assistants, I do that, but I’ll listen to people talk to me. I mean, I owe that to the profession, to myself. To say I’ll never talk to somebody – some of these people that I talk to I’ve been on committees with. I know the guy really well or I know who this person is, so for me, everybody would say, ‘Why would he ever leave Kentucky for anywhere?’ You’re right. Why would I? What would lead me, a better situation more committed to basketball? Money? Staff? Tell me why I would do this? ‘He’s tired of being here. He’s tired of the fans.’ Really? This is, your whole career you’re trying to get to a point where you’re at a program where it really matters and fans are engaged, you never have to sell a ticket, your son does something small and it trends nationally. If I speak, it’s like what did I say that they went crazy about? I didn’t say … This is the place, and where else can you prepare young people for the rest of their lives the way we do here?
“I got a letter yesterday, and I’ll probably respond to it. A guy that says, ‘I can never be for one-and-done unless it was my son.’ He didn’t say that. ‘But, I could never be for one-and-done because these kids should be in school for four years, and it should be about education.’ Let me just say this, the flip side of it: I just talked to Terrence Jones, who is coming back to campus to start academics. He was here two years, so now what’s great, he’s going through this process of trying to get back into the NBA. You always have a backstop. You can come back. Your education is paid for. So, this guy says, ‘These kids don’t want to be in school.’ Not true. ‘They should just go right to the NBA or if not, G League or Europe or Y League, but they shouldn’t be on a college campus.’ Really? OK, so as ninth graders, eighth graders, 10th graders, you’re telling all of these kids forget about academics, just try and be an NBA player, so now we all of a sudden there’s 10,000 kids that start saying they’re not worried about academics because we’re discouraging education. We discourage it now, go play pro. What’s the demographic look like that we’re saying it to? What’s that demographic look like? So, now we want to throw another thing on top of saying, ‘You’re getting arrested more, you’re getting more sentences, you’re doing this, you’re jobs, you’re this, you’re that.’ And, we’re telling you, ‘Chase that NBA dream. Chase it.’ How many make it? One percent or less. ‘You can do it. You can be the one percent.’ What happens to the other 99 percent that don’t make it? Who’s taking care of them? We are. Tell me what they’re going to do to make a living when you had them chasing a dream that’s outrageous. Now, they go to college and get a lifetime scholarship, they can leave after a year. What if they stay four years? What if they stay two years? What if they still chase their dreams, but they get that year under their belt to do it? To say none of them belong in college. Not true. They could be going to the G League for the last 10 years. They could have gone to the G League. Why didn’t they go? Why didn’t they go to the G League? Now, they’re saying, ‘We’re going to build up the G League to make it what it is, so we can encourage kids not to go to school.’ All I’m saying is kids should be able to go directly out of high school to the NBA. You know what, that’ll be seven, eight kids a year. They should go. Of that seven or eight, probably five will make it. The other three won’t, but they’ll be paid enough that they can … unless they throw their money away, they should be fine. The others? If you have no desire, they have kids going to Europe. I haven’t seen one make it yet that has gone that route that has truly made it or you go to college. What if they stay one year when they come with us? I’m fine. It’s not about me. It’s about these kids. It’s not about diminishing education. You do if you tell them, ‘Don’t worry about education, go directly to the NBA and if you can’t make it there, go G League, and if you can’t make it there, go to Y, and then figure out the rest of your life on your own.’ You would want your son to be encouraged not to be educated and chase this professional dream? Your own son? Now, you got me (going). When I read the letter, I’m not mad, but people get this thought of one-and-done. ‘They don’t go to class.’ Do our kids go to class (to sports information director Eric Lindsey)? (Lindsey: Yep, they’re in class at 8 in the morning the day after a late road game.) Our kids leave here in good academic standing. Every one of them except one, and the one was my first year. Everyone that has left here has left in good standing so that they can come back. So, all of that stuff, ‘They don’t go the second term.’ You’re just saying stuff. You’re mad. You’re an angry person that just keeps saying stuff, but it’s not true. Now, on other campuses, do kids leave after they’re done? They may. They don’t here. We have a responsibility for these kids the rest of their life. Not just while they’re here. The rest of their life. Are we doing right by them? We’re trying.”
On Brennan Canada …
“Yeah, Joel (Justus) brought him in, and he really wanted to be here, so he’s going to walk on. I’ll saw him yesterday in the gym, but he’s a big kid, pretty skilled. He’s in a competitive environment.”
On DeMarcus Cousins’ performance in game two of the NBA finals …
“I’m amazed. That injury, and he came back, and you and I know he didn’t have to come back, but they’re so beat up, and he wants to help them win a world championship. And I watched them. I’m sitting there, like, wow. Now, again, the impact and my hope is he continues on this kind of pace because I think someone’s going to say if you rated his numbers, centers and power forwards, my guess is he would be in the top two or three in both categories whether he was a center or power forward. His numbers one, two, maybe three. They could be one in both as a five or a four. My hope is that he proves that he’s healthy enough that someone gives him the kind of contract that he deserves. Fate has intervened. Some of it’s self-inflicted. We do things to ourselves, and then some if it just is fate, and fate hit him with that injury.”
On the possible rule changes in the NCAA …
“I like that [on shorter shot clock time after offensive rebound]. I think there should be challenged calls late in the game. You should be able to challenge a call, a made call or a non-made call. I challenge that. They go to the monitor and look at it. ‘Oh, it will extend the game.’ Are we worried about time or getting it right – who wins, who loses? Wouldn’t you want to get it right? ‘Well, we’ve never done that. Why do you talk and do things that’ve never …’ Well, how do you make it better? You make it so the call is right. The 3-point line going back, well, it’ll open up the lane maybe. I mean, I don’t know. The idea may be that they want everybody on the same plane from FIBA to whatever. That may be the reason. Either way it doesn’t matter to me, but there are other things that I think would be important. One of them being let’s be able to challenge calls, including non-calls. I don’t know exactly how you would do a non-call, when you would stop it, how far back. If you were looking at a call, could you evaluate other things within the call? This happened before, maybe four seconds before, eight seconds. I don’t know. Maybe, it’s just that thing we’re looking at. You challenge and don’t get it, it’s a timeout.”
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEMORIAL COLLESIUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
JUNE 7, 2019
SUMMER MEDIA OPPORTUNITY
Kentucky Players
#23, EJ Montgomery, So., F
On his reasons to come back and if one of them was building his strength …
“Yeah, that was probably one of the main reasons, just my physical part, my body. I went out there (for the workouts) and showed I can do a lot of things, but they just want to see that I can go out there and play with the physical guys.”
On the positive feedback he got in the NBA workouts …
“They just said I did good. I shot it well. I can stretch the floor and things like that.”
On if PJ Washington’s improvement from his freshman season to his sophomore season played a factor in coming back …
“It did once I heard where I would land in the draft and if I came back I would work hard every day just like he did and try to improve my stock.”
On how it feels to be one of the old guys and leaders now …
“It’s definitely weird but you have to learn fast here. It’s different. You just have to take that role.”
On how he let the team know he would be returning …
“We have a group text with the team. I just let them know, put it out there that we’re getting back to business, we’ve got another year.”
On how he dealt with limited minutes last season …
“Just with great teammates and a great support system. They always kept my head up and things like that. If I had a bad day, we always just kept each other up. Working in the gym every day, that’s the way I got through it.”
On coming back to a much larger role …
“I have to work for everything. It’s not going to be given to me, so I’m just going to stay in the gym.”
On the possibility of more pieces being added to the roster …
“Whatever Coach Cal thinks we need. If he thinks we need more people or if we don’t, we got to go out there and compete.”
#0, Ashton Hagans, So., G
On John Calipari saying he will have a breakthrough season …
“I feel really good about it. You know, I’m just here to work. Ups and downs last season in my game, so now that I know what I need to do, watch film, things like that, I just got to come in here and show the guys that I’m ready and ready to be a leader.”
On what he wants to work on …
“Getting stronger, finishing at the rim, more explosive, working on my shot, but that’s really the things that I need to do and work on in the offseason, and that’s really what I’ve been working on this offseason. But, like I said, just ready to get back to work.”
On struggling to finish at the rim at times …
“Sometimes it doesn’t happen, but you just got to move on and go with the next play. It’s basketball and things will happen, so you’ve got to keep your head up and keep going.”
On working on finishing at the rim …
“I was in the gym, so missing a layup, can’t do too much but just come back and get back in the gym and work on what I messed up on, but like I said, it’s another year and just try to come back and get better.”
On hearing that EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards were coming back …
“I wasn’t even on my phone when I heard they were coming back, and then somebody – I forgot where I was – somebody said, ‘EJ and Nick are coming back.’ My eyes just got big. It’s less stress on my shoulders having those two come back, but I’m just glad to have these guys back and another group that’s coming in, and we’ve got great talent coming in, so let’s try and be special with this group.”
On Tyrese Maxey …
“He’s a really good guard. He’s going to be a nice guard to play with. We’re going to have some great memories on the court. Might be one of the best backcourts you all ever see, but we’re going to see.”
On how Maxey and his game’s complement each other …
“Tyrese does a lot with his game, and I feel like I can do the same, but he plays defense, so that’s something that’s going to be a scary sight for other teams. We’re just ready to go out there and play with each other.”
#4, Nick Richards, Jr., F
On what led to his decision to return …
“We were talking about trying to be a better basketball player, that’s why. That’s one of the reasons I came to this school is to improve on my basketball skills and get ready for the next level. I thought that coming back for an extra year would just benefit that.”
On what sort of feedback he received …
“The main thing they were concerned about was me being more consistent. Everybody knows my game. They know what I can do. They wanted to know if I can bring it every single night. They wanted to know if I can do it in the NBA and hopefully do it for 82 games straight.”
On why he believes he hasn’t been consistent …
“It’s just one of those things I have to develop into. Coach just talks about me getting into the gym and working out the same things over and over again. Hopefully one day it just clicks on the basketball court.”
On how old he was when he first started playing and why it was so late …
“It was probably around 15 years old. Where I grew up in Jamaica, basketball is not really the common sport. It’s more about, we call it football, but in America they call it soccer. Cricket, track and field. I even did volleyball before. So, I was playing sports like that.”
On what drew him to basketball …
“Obviously I wanted to play basketball when I was younger, so played basketball close to when I got to 15 in the summertime. I came to America just to visit my grandmother and ended up on a summer league basketball team in New York. A basketball team saw me and offered me a scholarship to play for them.”
On if the decision was difficult or easy to come back to UK …
“The decision was probably easier. I knew that I would be coming back. The goal is this year is just to be a better player both on and off of the court.”
On how he feels about his basketball instincts …
“I’m just going out there and take it day by day. I’m trying to show everyone what kind of player I am and show everybody I love the game of basketball. Just try to move forward from there.”
On how Coach Cal has challenged him since being back …
“He’s driving me to be one of the best players in the country. Trying to make me one of the best big men in the country, and I am up for the challenge. It’s not that hard for me to play basketball; it’s the sport I love to do. There’s not pressure towards it. Just taking it day by day and show him what I can do.”
#5, Immanuel Quickley, So., G
On now being a veteran …
“It feels good. I wouldn’t say I’m old, but definitely one of the veterans on the team now, so I’m ready to take on that leadership role.”
On early impressions of this team versus last year’s …
“We’ve really just been playing pick-up. The team’s very talented individually. I think we’ll get better just like every Kentucky team as the season goes on. Hopefully we’ll build towards March once again.”
On why he made the decision to return so quickly …
“I kind of knew what I wanted to do. I was focused, working on getting better this summer, so I didn’t want to waste any time playing around with the process or anything.”
On what it’s like being a sophomore knowing new competition is coming in …
“It should be good. You know, ready to compete. That’s why you come to Kentucky: to play against the best. Pick-up’s been really good. Hopefully practice will be even better and just getting the best out of each other.”
On versatility in the backcourt …
“I think really versatile. All of us do different things, but we also do a lot of the same things as well. Ashton defense, getting to the rack. Tyrese in pick-up games, he’s really athletic, can get in the lane, can shoot as well, kind of like myself. So I think we’ll be able to do a lot of different things.”
On talking with Hagans about returning …
“I talked to Ashton a little bit, but it was kind of me and Coach Cal. We had talked about it, and that’s just kind of the decision we came up with.”
On whether he’s seen leadership improvements from Hagans …
“Yeah, no doubt. Me and Ashton definitely, even Nick and EJ, just have to take a different role. It kind of happens so fast just like that, going from learning as a freshman to being a sophomore teaching the young guys so it’s definitely going to be different.”
On how he found out Montgomery was returning …
“He told us before anybody else. I think I found out that morning and he told everybody else that evening on Snapchat. We were all laughing but we were all happy. He said something funny. But it’s just good for him to be back.”
