Flashback to old shoulder injury gives Kentucky’s Nate Sestina a scare
Although Kentucky never trailed and led for all but 77 seconds of the game, the 80-72 victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday night had a scary moment.
Nate Sestina left the court holding his right shoulder with 17:27 left. He went directly to the locker room with a trainer following.
Only a minute or so went off the game clock before Sestina reemerged. His reappearance prompted applause.
Sestina said he had a flashback to his freshman season for Bucknell when he suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder. What sent Sestina to the locker room this time was a Mississippi State player driving through his hand-check.
When asked about how much pain he was in, Sestina said, “I think it scared me more than anything. Just more of an ‘Am I OK?’ Not as much an ‘Oh my gosh, this hurts so bad.’”
In the UK locker room, the medical staff checked the strength in the shoulder to make sure nothing was torn, he said. After “a little vibration therapy, I was ready to go,” he said.
Sestina acknowledged a moment of hesitation after he returned to the court.
“I’m not going to lie,” he said. “I went to box out one time, and I would have hit the kid with my shoulder, and I was a little hesitant to do that. I’ve got to trust it. It’s my fifth year with a repaired shoulder.
“I know my parents are probably freaking out.”
Coincidentally, Sestina said his mother underwent successful hip surgery earlier Tuesday.
“She texted me, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’” Sestina said.
Technical foul
UK led 70-60 with less than 90 seconds left.
Then Kentucky Coach John Calipari received a technical foul with 1:15 left after a basket interference call nullified a UK basket.
Mississippi State made both free throws, but then missed a three-point shot to help Kentucky ease to victory.
When asked if he deserved the technical, Calipari said, “Oh, yeah.” He then seemed to reference the loss at Auburn in which the Tigers shot 44 free throws.
“We’ve had a couple games now, I’m getting kind of up to here now,” Calipari said as he raised his hands toward his throat. “And so I’ve got to stand up for these kids. I can’t let stuff happen.”
Calipari added that the referees did a “good job” in the game.
EJ smiles
Calipari said a friend mentioned that he saw EJ Montgomery smile on the court for maybe the first time. The UK coach cited better fitness as the reason.
Montgomery offered another possibility.
“I wasn’t too happy about how I was playing before,” he said.
‘I was frustrated’
During one stretch of less than two minutes in the first half, Sestina scored six straight points for Kentucky. He had scored six or fewer points in 10 previous games.
“I was frustrated with how I was playing,” he said. “On defense more than anything. I was getting beat and I was getting outrebounded and stuff.”
Sestina said he wanted to again be an “energy guy” for UK.
“Whether I play 35 minutes or five minutes, I’ve got to be that guy,” he said.
Numbers
In the last 2:21, Kentucky made 16 of 16 free throws. Nick Richards made six, Ashton Hagans two and the final eight by Immanuel Quickley.
Quickley, who had the seventh-best free-throw accuracy in the nation (91.3 percent), made 14 of 14 free throws. That tied a school record for most made free throws in one game without a miss. Louie Dampier (Dec. 22, 1966, against Oregon State), Ramel Bradley (Nov. 7, 2007, against Gardner-Webb) and Jodie Meeks (Jan. 13, 2009, at Tennessee) also made 14 without a miss.
Maxey on list
UK freshman Tyrese Maxey was among 10 players named to an updated list of candidates for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.
Maxey was one of four SEC players on the list. The other three were Isaiah Joe of Arkansas, Skylar Mays of LSU and Anthony Edwards of Georgia.
Past winners of the award include UK’s Malik Monk in 2017.
On Monday, Ashton Hagans was on an updated list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
The awards are sponsored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Players can play their way on and off the list the remainder of the season.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 1:53 AM.
