‘He’s definitely going to be a matchup problem’: How UK basketball signees looked at McDonald’s practice

The first McDonald’s All-American practice open to the media this week was Monday morning from the Atlanta Hawks’ practice facility, and UK basketball signees Keldon Johnson and Immanuel Quickley both impressed.

The two future Wildcats — along with top UK target E.J. Montgomery — are among 24 high school stars here for the annual game, which is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN.

Quickley — a 6-foot-3 point guard — will play for the East team this week and is the No. 14 overall player in the 247Sports composite rankings. Johnson — a 6-6 wing — is on the West team and ranked No. 15 nationally on that list. Both signed with UK in November.

Here’s a look at how they fared Monday morning.

Keldon Johnson

One notable aspect of Johnson’s game — his ability to communicate on defense — was apparent from the beginning of his team’s scrimmage Monday morning, and he didn’t let up the rest of the session.

“I got ball! I got ball!” Johnson shouted to teammates when he picked up a ball handler coming across half-court. He spent all morning pointing out opponents to his scrimmage teammates, often yelling out defensive commands at the same time.

“I’ve definitely always been vocal,” he said. “But I’m just trying to emphasize being more vocal on defense, because that’s the part that’s going to win most of our games when I get to the next level.”

Johnson — usually listed as a small forward — spent most of his time defending Kansas signee Quentin Grimes, who is often classified as a combo guard and is known as one of the best perimeter scorers in high school basketball.

Grimes called Johnson a “big-time guard” who should be a versatile defender.

“I think he’s definitely going to be a matchup problem for people at Kentucky,” he said. “He’s able to guard smaller guards, too. He’s kind of quick. He’s going to be good next year at Kentucky, for sure.”

Offensively, Johnson was tough to stop for most of the morning.

He used a quick first step to create for himself from the perimeter and almost always finished strong — and often, in traffic — at the rim.

McDonald’s practices can sometimes turn into one-on-one shows, but Johnson was a willing passer throughout his scrimmage. The only shot that could have been considered “forced” ended up in the basket after a nifty reverse finish in traffic.

“I did what I did — went out there and got buckets — and I just had a great time,” he said.

Johnson also showed an improved three-point stroke in warmups, though he didn’t take too many perimeter shots during the scrimmage portion of the practice. He’s been specifically working on his outside shooting in recent months, and his form looks better now than it did this time last year.

His positive attitude and energy level never waned during a session that, on the whole, perhaps lacked in the latter category, compared to past McDonald’s practices.

“Definitely want to just bring the energy and have everybody get it going so we can have a great practice,” Johnson said. “If we bring that energy and we can get going, then I believe practice will be great and high intensity.”

Immanuel Quickley

Quickley — the first point guard from the class of 2018 to earn a UK scholarship offer — didn’t get too many opportunities to score in his scrimmage Monday, but the reason for that is good news for Kentucky.

He was, for this setting, too willing of a passer, often giving up the ball to a teammate and then trying to get open himself. He would call for the return pass, but it rarely came.

The gym was full of NBA scouts, and — as always in these McDonald’s practices — that meant many guys were trying to prove themselves as scorers, something that doesn’t usually lead to return passes for the point guard.

Quickley did look great from long range in warm-ups and outside shooting drills. He hit several threes in a row on multiple occasions. UK’s coaches challenged him to become a better perimeter shooter early in his high school career, and he’s clearly improved that part of his game over the past couple of years.

Like Johnson, his future UK teammate, Quickley was a vocal presence for his team during Monday’s practice. He was constantly talking, trying to get guys in the right position. “Let’s get some energy, East!” he shouted at one point in an attempt to boost his teammates’ level of play during one of the drills.

“That’s something I pretty much do,” he said. “I just love talking, and that’s something you’ve gotta do as a point guard. You’ve gotta be vocal. You’ve gotta be a leader, and people need to feed off your energy.”

Quickley showed some tenacity on defense, staying close to the other team’s primary ball handler and bodying up on bigger guys when he would get caught on a switch.

His fellow East point guard and scrimmage opponent, Vanderbilt signee Darius Garland, said he got to know Quickley really well starting about a year ago.

“Great guy, first of all. Really cool to be around off the court,” Garland said. “On the court, he’s a dog. We get after it. It’s always a great matchup, and it’s always good seeing him.”

On two occasions, the East team took a break and every player on the squad grabbed a cup of water and a seat on the bench to get a couple of minutes of rest. Every player except Quickley, who jogged over for a quick sip and then jumped back on the court to shoot some free throws while his teammates looked on.

“He’s always trying to get better,” Garland said.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 4:42 PM with the headline "‘He’s definitely going to be a matchup problem’: How UK basketball signees looked at McDonald’s practice."