Now it’s ‘Pick Nick and Quick’ as UK promotes Quickley for postseason honors, too
Before Monday’s interviews previewing Tuesday’s game at Texas A&M, Kentucky’s All-American candidate said he had “a special announcement” to make about Immanuel Quickley.
Nick Richards, the subject of a UK promotion for All-American honors put in the form of a political ad, walked to the podium. He paused, and then said, “Nobody comes up bigger in clutch moments than my teammate and my brother.”
After saying his “campaign manager” (aka associate head coach Kenny Payne) would answer questions, Richards held up a sign.
“Pick Nick and Quick,” he said.
A moment later, Payne declined to say which candidate would be the running mate of the other, or which would be Batman to the other’s Robin.
“I say co-Players of the Years,” Payne said.
Earlier Monday, Quickley joined Richards as a two-time winner of the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week award this season.
Quickley scored a team-high 21 points in Kentucky’s victory at LSU last Tuesday. Then he followed up Saturday with a career-high 26 points in the victory over Florida.
As teammate EJ Montgomery summed up memorably on Monday, “Immanuel is hooping.”
Of course, Quickley has been “hooping” in a timely manner. Again and again, he has come through with the big score in what has been inevitable this Kentucky season: a game becoming a possession-by-possession test of wills in the final minutes. Hence the nickname “Killer” was coined by a teammate.
When asked to put into words Quickley’s contributions, Tyrese Maxey said, “How do I explain it?”
After a pause, Maxey said, “He’s very reliable. We know what we’re going to get out of him.”
Does the ball find Quickley in clutch situations because of a directive from Coach John Calipari? Player instinct? A favorable matchup? Happenstance?
A bit of it all can come into play, Maxey said.
“Immanuel’s been hot lately,” Maxey said. “Coach Cal always coaches to where who’s hot needs to get the ball late (in games). He’s hitting shots (and) free throws.
“If we want to win, I want to get it to him, too. That’s what I’d do. I like to win.”
Payne suggested that Quickley’s evolution as a player has been underappreciated. This growth curve has not just been physical, but it’s also had a mental component, Payne said.
“Simply from where he came from to where he is today,” Payne said. “Unbelievable.”
As a freshman last season, Quickley had “a mind racing,” Payne said. “There was so much doubt.”
And this season?
Quickley is “mentally being so sure of who he is as a player,” Payne said.
When asked if Quickley is Kentucky’s go-to player, Payne smiled. He called Quickley the “one common denominator” in UK’s many close games.
Payne noted how Quickley comes through in “a multitude of ways.”
Quickley’s offensive game has grown from simply a catch-and-shoot guy to a player capable of driving to rim or scoring off floaters in the lane.
Quickley’s development also included a position change. He came to Kentucky as a point guard, albeit a scoring point guard.
Even so, Payne did not minimize that move to shooting guard.
“I would say I huge adjustment simply from the standpoint of not having the ball in his hands,” the associate coach said.
Payne noted that former UK players like Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe had to make a similar adjustment.
Quickley’s religious faith helped him adjust, said Payne, who added, “he has depended on that when he needed it most.”
Payne said UK coaches got the idea late last summer they would have a new, improved Quickley this season. A successful summer gave Quickley a different presence.
“There was a different type of swagger about him,” Payne said. “He could handle criticism (better). He could handle tough coaching. While last year, he struggled with it.”
Tuesday
No. 8 Kentucky at Texas A&M
When: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: UK 22-5 (12-2 SEC); Texas A&M 14-12 (8-6 SEC)
Series: UK leads 10-4
Last meeting: UK won 85-74 on Jan. 8, 2019, in Rupp Arena
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
