Kentucky Basketball Previews Tennessee
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
MISSISSIPPI STATE at UK PREGAME MEDIA
MARCH 2, 2020
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
Head Coach John Calipari
“I’m so happy for how this has all played out for Nate. You’re talking about a kid who talked about and dreamed about coming to play at a school like Kentucky. It wasn’t the same path as a lot of our other guys, but he carved out his own journey, and my hope is it’s been everything he hoped it would be. I know this: He has added to this program. His experience, his leadership, his communication skills on and off the court, and his ability to make shots and stretch the defense have played a big part in this team’s success. And I’m happy to see his hard work pay off the last couple of weeks. He’s playing well. What a great young man and a terrific teammate.”
Assistant Coach Joel Justus
On clinching the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and what needs to happen moving into tournament time …
“I think we need to get better. I don’t think that the narrative has switched at all for us. I think with Coach Cal, what he told the team before the game on Saturday is, ‘Every game, whether it’s in March, whether it’s in November – even playing Evansville – [media laughs] you try to get better each time you step out on the court.’ I don’t think that changes this week, I don’t think it changes when we head to Nashville for one, two, three games. Our goal is to get better, for individuals to get better and for our team to ultimately become better.”
On where he would like to see the improvement …
“I think if your individuals improve, your team improves. We’ve talked about Ashton (Hagans) being more consistent, taking care of the ball. He had a good game Saturday. Obviously, we all–he wanted to see a couple more shots go down, but he was close on some. Didn’t really take bad shots; just shots didn’t fall. But he made an impact on the defensive end. He got our team into offense. You know, you look at a guy like Immanuel Quickley to continue to play better as a guy who can play with having the burden of being the leading scorer, to play with having the burden of being a guy that teams are going to aim to shut down. You want consistency off of your bench with Johnny (Juzang), with Nate (Sestina), with Keion (Brooks Jr.). It’s another opportunity for them to improve and gain confidence as we head into the tournament in Nashville and ultimately the tournament for what will hopefully be three weekends.”
On Nate Sestina and his Senior Day …
“Nate has given us tremendous leadership. Being that guy that is older, that is more mature — most of the time [media laughs]. You know, Nate has a spirit about him that he’s enjoyed his time here. I like 22-year-old Nate. There’s times when he slips back into 13-year-old Nate [media laughs]. It does bring a certain kind of laugh and spirit to our team that, even last year, while Reid (Travis) was that leader, Reid was very serious. While Nate is serious, he is able to relate to this group, and it’s a fun, it’s a laughing jovial group. I don’t know that I have one great story that sticks out. But it’s Senior Day for three managers of ours as well: Kevin (Gallagher), Barrett (Bouska) and Will (Evans), and when you’re putting together a program and you have a team each year, those guys are just as important as the guys that play, and a guy like Nate Sestina. The way that our guys get better is in that gym, and oftentimes the guys in the gym, more than our coaches, are those managers. It’s a big day for those three guys and it’s an important day for our entire program to have those guys be recognized because there’s a lot of man hours that have been put in by Kevin, Barrett and Will. It’s a big loss for us, but we’re happy for them and it’s a fun day that we should celebrate.”
On what “13-year-old Nate” is like …
“I think he’s one that laughs. I think he tells bad jokes and laughs at even worse jokes that are told by the other guys on the team [media laughs], but this is a group that really came together over Christmas. Kind of the Camp Cal days have changed with some new rules from the NCAA, but what we were able to do was feed them. I think this group really came together over meals, and it’s amazing, I think, when you look at it from our perspective, what meals can do for teams, what meals can do for families, and that has never been more obvious with this team and how they came together after what I think we all would say was a rough Las Vegas trip. There were a lot of individuals that were questions, our team was questioned, and this group came back out to work after a three-, four-day kind of vacation and really came together. I think you look at that now at the beginning of March as a major point of our season.”
On Immanuel Quickley’s improvement over the season …
“Well, I think his confidence. His confidence is sky high, and that comes from work. That comes from playing well in one game, playing well in two games, and I think as we just talked about, you still have two more games to play in the regular season. That’s just another way to build your confidence as you’re riding that wave into Nashville and then ultimately, like I said, three weekends in March to April. But every time you step on the court, it’s a chance for you to build your confidence. It’s something we talk about with our guys here, is every time you step on that court you’re being evaluated, and if you want to be a professional and you truly want to take this to another level, you have to show up every day whether its practice, whether its games, whether it’s a workout, and by and large I think our guys do that. So, I don’t think there’s any fear that there’s any steps that are going to be backwards for this group. I think it’s another opportunity for us to make strides moving forward.”
On the thought of holding guys out who have been injured throughout the season now that they’ve clinched the championship …
“There’s always conversation back and forth, but I don’t think that’s any different than–it’s not because we’ve won. I think it’s what’s in the best interest of the individuals. We’ve talked about that. I mean, everybody at this time of year is banged up, but there’s no ‘because of winning on Saturday, now we can sit guys,’ or ‘we can play guys more because of it doesn’t matter.’ We’re trying to, like I said, gain momentum for individuals, gain momentum as a unit vs. worried about seeding, worried anything else. If guys need to sit because they’re injured, obviously we’ll sit them.”
On Sestina coming to UK with a purpose …
“I think Nate is at a place that you can get whatever you want out of it. I think people talk about the University of Kentucky men’s basketball program as just what they see on the floor at Rupp Arena or just what they see on social media or just what they hear about from us or from you all. There’s a lot that goes on that our kids are a part of. I mean, you see they went out and took part in DanceBlue yesterday. They wanted to that. That wasn’t something our staff directed to do. Our guys have been front row at Kroger Field cheering on the football team. They’ve gone to soccer games. They’ve been to other events here on campus. This is a great place to go to college. It’s a great place to experience what would be the best time of most our lives. These guys are taking advantage of that and they’re afforded that here. It’s great place to learn, it’s a great place to work, it’s a great place to play, and our guys – not just Nate – take advantage of all that.”
On the National College Players Association suggesting to have the NCAA Tournament without fans in attendance because of coronavirus concerns …
“For us, I think we’re going to show up and play. I think you’ve seen our guys show up whether there’s 20,000 fans or whether there’s no fans, our guys are going to be there. They’ll be excited to play and whatever happens, happens. I think for us, our goal is to get better today in practice. I think our goal is to get better tomorrow in the Tennessee game and ultimately head down to Gainesville and become a group that is taking steps to becoming our best version and their best version.”
On Sestina’s work ethic …
“I think It goes back to the same thing of confidence. You gain confidence by putting in work. You gain confidence by listening to coaching staff, Coach Cal. So, you’re confident in speaking what you know. I think Nate’s a guy who’s locked in on film study. He’s a guy that’s locked in when you’re doing walkthroughs, any type of scripting on offense, to where he knows what is heading his way. And really, je’s just like the rest of the guys; he’s only been here for a couple months. But I think it speaks to his 22-year-old side, the maturity side, where he knows that that’s important. And that’s important towards winning, and when you’ve been a college basketball player and won, you understand how important all the small things are. He’s a guy that does embrace that and then has tried to push that to our younger guys as often as he could.”
On what Sestina has brought to the team …
“Absolutely. That was something from day one. I think whether you’re in the weight room, whether you’re on the track, it’s the little things that at this time of year you’ve got to keep tight.”
On the team’s communication …
“I think we do have some other guys that talk. I think that Nate doing it has empowered Immanuel to do it, has empowered Ashton to do it. Now, EJ (Montgomery) and Nick (Richards). The older guys have done it and have been consistently making strides to talk more. And that’s what you want. Coach has talked about being a player-driven team, and I think whenever we were on that about a month ago, our guys took another step forward. And when you have that, now you’ve got a chance. When it truly is player driven, you have a chance to do something special. We’ve gone on the road and won in tough environments, we’ve won big games, close games. So, I think for us, Nate kind of got that running early and empowered the other guys to see what embracing the little things and communicating really was day-to-day.”
On the age difference between this group and years past …
“I think it’s important. I think the guys know what winning feels like, what losing feels like. That’s obviously something that the only way to figure out what that feels like is to go through it. Nate’s a guy that has won big games, has been a part of big games, and then he brings that to the table in September, October, November when these other guys are looking around to not only to see what it feels like, but also then experience it. That’s a big thing.”
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
TENNESSEE at KENTUCKY PREGAME MEDIA
MARCH 2, 2020
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Players
#1, Nate Sestina, Gr., F
On if he has to watch what he says when his parents are in town, like they currently are …
“Not so much my dad, but when my mom is around, absolutely. No swear words, got to watch what I say. Make sure I represent us well.”
On how quickly his time at Kentucky has gone …
“I was talking to Keion (Brooks Jr.) and Johnny (Juzang) yesterday and I remember moving in in June, wide-eyed, like ready to get this thing going. And summer went really, really fast, got a little bit of a break in August. Coach was like, ‘It’s going to be February before you know it,’ and it’s March now. It’s just flown by. But it’s been unreal.”
On his experience playing for Kentucky …
“It’s something that I couldn’t have asked for. It’s everything that you wanted to happen for you. To play basketball at a high level, to play for a coach like Coach Cal, to have the teammates that I have and have the fans that we have and the support, it’s been everything to me, it’s been everything to my family. They’re always texting me after games telling me that everyone in Emporium (Pennsylvania) is texting them, cheering us on. So, it’s been everything to me.”
On how preparing for the postseason is different for him now …
“I haven’t really thought about it that much. But, more recently looking at everything and kind of getting an idea of how things are going to shape up, it’s crazy. I would have never thought about that. You want to win your conference championship to get into the tournament, but to know that you’re going to make it and to know that you’re going to have a good seed and everybody’s going to travel and you’re going to have a bunch of fans there instead of a little section of the gym being (Bucknell’s) orange and blue. It’s a little bit different, but I really haven’t thought about it too much.”
On if he has talked to his former teammates about his experience at Kentucky …
“Yeah, absolutely. I talk to Walter Ellis a lot, and his dad, obviously, works for College GameDay, LaPhonso Ellis, so I talk with him too. But with Walt, he’s asking us like what it’s like with practices this time of year because they’re a lot different than what we had been going through at Bucknell. Like I said, you have to win those conference championships to get to the NCAA Tournament. But they’re loving it, when I scored 1,000 points, they were cheering me on. All my coaches have been texting me just to congratulate me and say it’s awesome to see you succeed. It’s been great. It really is a family. As soon as you just leave, they don’t just forget about you.”
On how difficult it is for him to get past a mistake and move forward …
“I’m a perfectionist, at least I try to be. So, you want to play perfectly all the time, you want to play great and if you don’t, sometimes that stuff lingers on your mind. For me, I try to correct that mistake or do something to get us the ball back. Like, I missed two free throws the other day, which I hate because I shoot free throws all the time in practice and after practice. But with a play like that, you miss it, you try to get the ball back, but it does linger on your mind a little bit. But that book I had talked about really helps me out mentally to just forget about it and try to move forward as fast as possible.”
On if he came to Lexington with a way to stop and take in the UK experience while he was here …
“Absolutely. When I first got here, I was just trying to get healthy and all of the lifts and stuff. I just really soaked in the time that I was able to have with Rob (Harris) and the trainers that we had in the summer. Appreciate that time. Then, Madison Square Garden, obviously, I had never played there and to have, first game as a graduate student there against Michigan State was huge. And I had my family there as well. The Ohio State game, my brother was able to make it from California. The Louisville game, my parents were there again. Just different games throughout the season. Then, to score 1,000 points in college is something that I had always dreamed about as a little kid. And to do that wearing this uniform just means a lot to me. Now, moving into my final home game here is a little surreal, but definitely going to soak in the experiences, soak in the time with my family while they’re here and then go into Saturday’s game. I’m trying to do it, it’s hard because everything just happened, then it’s gone. But I’ve been reflecting a lot and a lot of great memories have been popping up.”
On how long it took him to get used to the big crowds …
“I think after Big Blue Madness it kind of hit me. I don’t really pay attention to it. I say it all the time, when I’m playing, I don’t really listen to it, but I can always hear my mom’s whistle. Like at Bucknell games, the crowd would be crazy and something would happen or I would react and she would whistle and I could hear it. But I never hear people. I listen to the coaches and my teammates, but other than that, I don’t really pay attention to it. But I could always hear her whistle, and my sister’s. So, I try not to think about the crowd too much. But Rupp was crazy on Saturday. When Immanuel (Quickley) hit that 3 at the end, the crowd was crazy. I think that was the first time, I wasn’t in the game at the time, but I soaked it in. It was ridiculously loud.”
On if he went through a Senior Day ceremony at Bucknell last year …
“I did, yeah. I didn’t plan on transferring until after the season, so I didn’t think I was going to leave. And my brother surprised me, I hadn’t seen him in two years. So, he surprised me and it really threw me off. I was like one for seven to start the game. I think my first shot hit the shot clock. But it’s a little bit different because I know now that this is my last one. And I love college basketball and if I had another year, I would stay for sure. It’s just something I have come to love and appreciate. But it’s starting to hit me a little bit, that this is my last time doing it. But I can’t think about it too much because I don’t want to let that affect how I play.”
On what his chapter in a book about this season would say about him …
“A great teammate, a great leader, somebody who brought smiles to everybody’s faces outside of basketball, a resource outside of the gym, and inside. Like, when we’re practicing, somebody that guys can lean on, guys can trust. Mostly, just somebody who you can rely on, on and off the court. That’s something that I try to do, everywhere I go. Just have relationships with everybody and I want them to feel like they have the same relationship that I have with them, with me. Somebody that they can, 10 years from now, they can hit me up if I’m near their city and we can go and get dinner, and it’s never going to be an issue. That’s what I had with my teammates at Bucknell and I know that I’m going to have that with these guys because they are the same people, the same kind of kids, come from good families, guys who want to win, guys who want to build these relationships outside of just practice and outside of just basketball.”
On his plans for the future …
“Playing professionally, wherever that is. It’s been a dream of mine to be a professional basketball player and to make money playing the game I love and not having to go to school doing it too. Just building something for myself down the road, establishing myself and hopefully I can play for as long as my body allows me to, then retire and live it up.”
