UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PRESEASON INTERVIEWS
OCT. 23, 2020
FRESHMAN FORWARD CAM’RON FLETCHER
On his brother Jalen’s influence on him …
“I would say he’s a very good big brother. He taught me a lot on and off the court as a young man because my father really wasn’t around. He was like a father figure to me, so he taught me off the court and on the court. He’s a big influence on my life.”
On things that his brother Jalen helped him with …
“He would just tell me not to worry about anybody else. Just worry about myself and how I’m working.”
On what the vibe has been like within the team now that Olivier Sarr and Jacob Toppin are eligible …
“We’ve just been excited. Two big factors of the team. So, we’ve just been excited.”
On what Toppin brings to the table …
“Energy. He plays hard. He’s going to do what the coaches ask him to do. He’s a good teammate, looks out for others and he’s a very good dude.”
On who he gets matched up against in practice and who he likes to compete against …
“Usually it’s either Lance (Ware) or BJ (Boston). I like going against both of them because Lance is strong and he makes me more physical. BJ, he is a very good athlete and he just makes me better on defense.”
On if defense is a big focus of his like it is with John Calipari …
“Yeah, I love defense myself. Before anything else, I love defense. Defense wins games.”
On how thrilling it is for his family that he’s playing at Kentucky …
“Very thrilling. Some people thought I would never be here, but I just worked my tail off to get here and I just want to prove everybody wrong.”
On how he would describe his game …
“I’m a dog. I’m going to get on the floor. I’m going to get dirty. I’m going to do all the little things.”
On what those little things are he does …
“Loose balls. I’m going for all the loose balls. I’m playing defense. I don’t want anyone to score on me. I’m just an animal.”
On how things have been in comparison to what he expected in practice …
“I knew it was going to be challenging and hard. I’m just doing what Coach asks me to do. Practice is going good right now.”
On how nice it was for him to get a break from summer workouts before returning to school …
“First couple of weeks coming in, I was exhausted because of COVID. I haven’t really been in the gym before that so my body just had to get back used to it. I was just exhausted and tired.”
On how he’s had to adapt to life surrounding the pandemic …
“I had to sacrifice going out and stuff because I don’t want to catch corona. Like going out and stuff, I don’t really go out no more. Just trying to be safe and inside. I don’t want to get nobody else COVID and the season’s right around the corner. It’s just best for me to stay inside right now.”
On Terrence Clarke …
“He’s a floor general. He gets everybody involved. He doesn’t just think about his self. He’s like a team type of player. He’s not selfish or nothing. That’s just the type of people I like being around that likes the team to be involved in everything and not just themselves. That’s the type of guy he is.”
On who would win in a dunk contest on this year’s team …
“I know it’s going to be Jacob (Toppin). Jacob wins it. He’s just got a lot of dunks in his package. He’s explosive though. He’s got bounce. Don’t get me wrong though, he’s got some nice dunks in his package. There’s some stuff that I can’t do that he can do.”
On his pregame habit of eating candy before games and what is the candy of his choosing …
“It just gives me energy. It gets me pumped up. So, that’s why I do it. (I eat) Skittles, Sour Patches.”
On Coach Calipari …
“He’s very energetic. I just know that he likes to win. He don’t really like doing all of the extra stuff; he just likes to win. He’s very hard on us. Some of the stuff is confusing right now, but he takes his time with us because he knows we have never played this type of basketball before. So, he’s just taking his time with us right now. But he’s a very good coach.”
On if he’s picked up some of Calipari’s tendencies …
“Some of the sets we’ve got right now is confusing because we’ve never played this way. But he breaks it down to us every day and just tells us what we need to do and just tells us the small things that we need to do. So, as he breaks it down, I just put it my head and I go over it after practice and work on it with another coach after practice when I’m confused about it.”
On the team’s chemistry …
“It’s a process, but we are working. We’re still working right now.”
