Returners Discuss 2018-19 Season
Kentucky men’s basketball returners Jemarl Baker, Quade Green, Nick Richards and PJ Washington met with the media on Thursday to discuss their return to UK and the 2018-19 season.
#25, PJ Washington, So., F
On what’s the biggest thing freshmen need to learn when they come in …
“Just be mentally tough. I feel like if you’re mentally tough you can get through it. I think that’s the biggest thing with Cal: If you’re mentally tough, you play a lot. You play a lot of defense. Basically you go out there and do your thing. Just come in and be mentally tough, listen to what he says and just try to apply it to the court.”
On what Cal told him his role is for next year …
“He told me if I come back, he wants me to do everything I did the in the Kansas State game and just work on my outside game a lot more. That’s basically what he said, and I’ve been doing that in my pre-draft workouts. That’s what I’ve been focusing on and I feel like I’m ready for it. I can’t wait for the season to start.”
On the feedback he got after the NBA combine …
“If you look at the NBA game today, there are not a lot of people in the post. That’s what they kind of stressed to us there. They move through a lot of cuts, a lot of screens, a lot of back doors. We all pretty much play from the perimeter. That’s the NBA game today.”
On how many free throws he will have shot between the end of last season and the start of next season …
“I mean, I can’t shoot any right now so I don’t know. I definitely have to wait until I get back.”
On if free-throw shooting is a focus for him …
“I’m confident in my abilities. I practice every day. I get in the gym and work on the things I need to work on. I’ve just got to trust my work.”
On how he will balance his post game with perimeter skills …
“I’ve been playing basketball for a long time, like I said earlier. In high school and stuff like that, I played on the perimeter, so I’m pretty used to it. My senior year (in high school) I did a lot of it, which you guys didn’t really get to see. I’m pretty confident in my abilities. Like I said, I’ve been putting work in and I trust my work. That doesn’t really stress me at all.”
On adjusting from playing guard before he got to UK to playing in the post …
“It was an adjustment because like I said I’ve been playing basketball a long time. I’ve been playing a lot of positions for a long time. Basically you’re asking the same questions. But I’ve been playing a lot of positions, different positions, so I’m pretty comfortable.”
On his recovery from surgery …
“I feel like I’m doing a lot better than how I was.”
#0, Quade Green, So., G
On the newcomers …
“We’re bonding, really. Ever since day one, since we came here, everyone’s been bonding as a team. We’re playing pick-up (games) every day – nothing better than that when you’ve got a new team coming in. They’ve been asking some questions, how things go, and we tell them what the routes are and that’s it.”
On what it’s like for him to be back for his sophomore season …
“I feel great coming back. I feel like I’m a veteran now. I’m the old guy on the team, so I have to take care of the young guys and I have to take care of myself and the team. Hopefully we all click together when the season starts and go from there.”
On what he’s wanting to accomplish for himself this season …
“Just have a better year than my first year. Just be in the gym every day, work on what I have to work on, and that’s it and let it escalate from there.”
On differences in this team as compared to last season …
“We have a bunch of shooters on our team. It seems like everybody can shoot now, so you really have to guard everybody now. You have to guard us now because we’re able to shoot at the 1-3 (positions).”
On whether he will be on the ball more or off the ball …
“Wherever they need me to, I’m there. If they need me to play the five spot, I’m going to play the five spot. If that’s where they need me, that’s what they need.”
On how hungry this team is …
“This team, you really don’t know how hungry we are until the season starts going. But it looks like everyone is in the gym, so everybody is hungry from what I’ve seen.”
On all the guards …
“We’re going to have a lot of guards. We’re going to have a lot of guards that can dribble, shoot, so they won’t be crowding up on you on the paint. Everybody can spread out.”
#4, Nick Richards, So., F
On meeting Justify …
“You know, I was actually kind of scared. I was hoping he wouldn’t bite my finger off. I was hesitant to feed him carrots.”
On why he wants to be a leader now and why he wasn’t a leader before …
‘When I meant leader I meant like a vocal leader. During high school I never really spoke out that much. I guess it’s my personality. In high school I was more of a lead-by-example (person). My coaches and everybody just followed me. Just look what I’m doing and here we are.”
On what he looks forward to in the position group …
“Those group of guys around me hopefully get better in practice every day. We have PJ who basically played with a broken finger last year. You have guys like Rob (Harris) who will teach you how to be hungry. EJ (Montgomery), he works hard every day and does one-on-one workouts with the coaches to get better and get ready for the season.”
On waiting for his teammates to decide about the draft …
“We all knew what was going to happen. It was pretty obvious who was going to be here and who wasn’t going to be here. The draft is in a couple of days and I hope everybody that’s in the draft becomes successful in the NBA. Hopefully I’ll be able to join them.”
On why Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel went to the draft …
“That’s their decision, what reason they chose to go to the draft. The saw it as a good opportunity for them to go and enter their name in the NBA. I wish them nothing but the best and good luck to them.”
#13, Jemarl Baker, R-Fr., G
On getting strength back in his knee …
“It was definitely tough to get it back. It was something that I haven’t ever been through before but I enjoyed the process. I just got to look at basketball in a different perspective, so now I’m ready to go and I’ll be better this year.”
On what was enjoyable about the process …
“Just being able to watch practice, watch the games. Just being able to experience everything from I guess a front-row seat. It was just good and it prepared me.”
On when he realized the knee problem was going to keep him out for season …
“I guess after surgery. My knee, or not even my knee, my whole leg was really little so I just knew it was going to be a whole big process for me to just get strength back in my leg. The first month or so it wasn’t getting too big so I just knew it was going to take a little bit.”
On his confidence level after the injury …
“I feel great. I’ve been working out ever since I’ve been back. My shot feels good. My game feels good, so I am just ready to get out there and play.”
On if he’s excited or worried about competing for playing time with the amount of guards on this team…
“I’m excited. You come to Kentucky you know you are going to have to compete. Guys coming in every year so it’s not a big deal to me. I love to compete and that’s why I’m here.”
On if he’s excited about Calipari saying he wants shooters everywhere on the court this season…
“Yeah, for sure. That is why I came here last year. Just unfortunately I wasn’t able to do it. I’m just really excited for this year, excited to play and excited to help the team win.”
