Aggressive Green Leads UK Surge Past ETSU
Quade Green will do whatever is asked of him if it leads to a win for Kentucky.
If that means serving as a facilitator, no problem. If he has to play off the ball, he will. And if he has to step up as a scorer, he’ll do so gladly.
That’s exactly what he did on Friday.
“I was just reading how they were playing me,” Green said. “Shoot when I’m open. If they’re playing up, get in the lane, swing it, get everybody involved. Just as simple as that.”
More than nine minutes in, Kentucky needed Green desperately. Visiting East Tennessee State charged out to an 18-8 lead and Green responded. He scored 10 of UK’s next 12 points, and by the end of the two-minute, 24-second outburst the Wildcats had trimmed the deficit to three points. Kentucky (3-1), by that point, was well on the way to a 78-61 victory over the Buccaneers (1-2).
“He gave them a spark when they needed it,” ETSU head coach Steve Forbes said. “He played with a lot of confidence, I thought, on offense. He came off the ball screen and made some shots. We probably didn’t do a great job of defending that and giving him that look, but he’s a good player.”
Green was coming off a quiet outing against Kansas in which he scored only six points in 21 minutes of UK’s first loss. The freshman point guard shot only 36.4 percent, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range, over the first three games of his career, but made that cold start a distant memory with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He shot 3 of 5 from beyond the arc added three assists for good measure.
“The last couple games he didn’t really shoot the ball that well, so tonight he came out really on fire, basically,” said Kevin Knox, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds. “That’s what we need him to do, stay aggressive, keep hitting those shots. Because if he hits those shots it opens up everybody else. I know I got a lot of my baskets because the defense kind of collapsed on him and he was able to kick it to me. We just gotta keep him staying aggressive, keep playing like he is and keep knocking down shots.”
Forbes watched Green and Kentucky closely in reviewing tape of UK’s first three regular-season games and three exhibitions. What he saw led him to believe the Cats will need lots more of what Green gave them Friday.
“Just watching him a play just a small sample in what I’ve seen, they need him to be aggressive like that at the point,” Forbes said.
Green believes that might be true, but he also knows his role must go far beyond just scoring for No. 7 UK to reach its potential.
“I think I need to be a rebounder, play defense,” Green said. “I think I need to do everything for the team.”
That includes leadership, which for now is primarily about reinforcing John Calipari’s coaching. That can be a little stern at times, as it was Friday.
“So it’s a step at a time — you ready for this — can’t skip steps,” Calipari said. “I want to. Come on. I want to. I want us to be great right now. Guess what? Not happening, sorry. And I got to accept it and be patient. At the end of the game I kind of got frustrated, I probably shouldn’t have, but I did, and normally after a game like that I don’t want to say much but I came in and guys were taking their shoes off and talking and so I said some stuff. Not mean, kept it real.”
There’s only one way to respond to that.
“We’ve gotta keep pushing forward, keep listening to him,” Green said. “He’s going to steer us to the right plan, so we just gotta keep listening.”
