Kentucky sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley has been a consistent leader for the Wildcats this season.
Quickley’s scoring per game is up from 5.2 last season to 13.7 this season. His minutes have also increased from 18.5 as a freshman to 30.3 as a sophomore.
The Havre De Grace, Maryland, native has been one of the most improved players in college basketball this season. He earned SEC Player of the Week for his performance’s during the Wildcats wins at Georgia and at home vs. Alabama.
It’s easy to look at stats and spot Quickley’s improvement but his performance on Saturday at Arkansas showed just how vital he is to Kentucky’s success this season.
In the win, Quickley shot 3-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range for 21.4 percent overall, ending a streak of five consecutive games shooting 50 percent or better. However, he knocked down a corner three late in the game to give Kentucky a 59-49 lead.
While Quickley finished with 13 points vs. the Razorbacks, it wasn’t his offense that kept him on the floor. Instead, he added 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double and get this, he played all 40 minutes for the Cats. Sure, Ashton Hagans and Tyrese Maxey being in foul trouble played into that, but the fact John Calipari kept him on the floor without his best shooting effort says a lot about the sophomore’s growth.
Quickley joined Andy Katz on the NCAA March Madness 365 Podcast Tuesday morning to discuss the win and the week ahead for the Cats.
“This team just showed a lot of toughness, a lot of grit,” said Quickley. “We had a similar game before at South Carolina. We had kind of learned from that game, when a team fights back you have to keep clawing, keep digging in. When Coach Cal got ejected we all knew we had to come together.”
Quickley believes Kentucky’s veterans helped the Wildcats overcome Calipari’s ejection and the hostile crowd.
You can listen to the podcast with Quickley and Katz below. Quickley joins the show at 33:09.
