Richards, Hagans exchange words late in Kentucky’s loss to Tennessee
Late in the second half of Kentucky’s loss to Tennessee on Tuesday, Ashton Hagans and Nick Richards exchanged words. Their body language suggested frustration bordering on exasperation.
UK Coach John Calipari did not sound alarmed when asked about the exchange.
“Neither one played particularly well, so probably (they were) telling each other, ‘You’re not playing well,’ ‘and neither are you.’”
Immanuel Quickley suggested the exchange should be applauded. He noted that last season PJ Washington had “a few choice words” for Hagans in UK’s game at Auburn.
“Holding guys accountable … is definitely something this team needs,” Quickley said. “ If you’re not (ticked) off, I don’t really think you’re a competitor.
“I think guys are really animated because they really care. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t have said anything. In every good relationship, people argue.”
Sestina says thanks
The game came on Senior Night for Nate Sestina, who on Monday thanked UK fans for their support.
“It’s crazy how much people actually support you. … ,” he said. “Even people you don’t even know. They know everything about you. It’s all love and it’s all great.”
When asked for an example Sestina noted how a fan knew that the UK player’s mother had had hip surgery.
“Somebody came up to me when I was getting coffee and, like, asked how her hip was,” he said. “Like seven in the morning or eight in the morning. So, I was, like, they actually pay attention and they care. So, I thought that was pretty cool.”
‘Surreal’
Even though the regular season is almost finished, Sestina’s mother still sounded taken aback by her son playing for an elite college basketball program.
“It’s still all so surreal for me,” Ricki Sestina said. “You just think of Kentucky as so elite and absolutely amazing and so well respected throughout the whole country. And our son played for them. There were people that questioned whether he would get any playing time at all. It’s just crazy to think of our son, from where we came from, is so successful there.”
Beast mode
As part of the Senior Night ceremony, a video tribute to Sestina played. His father, Don Sestina, capped the video with a message to his son.
“We were waiting for the beast to come out,” the elder Sestina said.
After saying associate head coach Kenny Payne brought out the beast in Nate Sestina, the player’s father added, “For crying out loud, get an alley-oop dunk.”
There was no such play. But Nate Sestina’s one basket on his Senior Night farewell to Rupp Arena had a roar to it. His emphatic putback dunk in the final seconds of the first half gave UK a 42-31 halftime lead.
Why UK?
When he decided to finish his college career with a season as a graduate transfer, Sestina got calls from such schools as Syracuse, North Carolina, UConn, Pittsburgh, TCU, Washington State and Georgetown.
His visit to Kentucky was the only one he made.
“A lot of schools wanted Nate to, like, help the program,” Don Sestina said. “And, Nate said, it’s at the point now where he’s looking at a school for player development because he needed to improve his game and improve his body. … Kentucky was a godsend.”
Perspective
The tornado that hit the Nashville area overnight was on the mind of Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those that lost people in the devastation there,” he said.
Barnes said that he spoke to a friend who lives in Cookeville, Tenn., which was hit hard by the tornado.
“I said, ‘What can we do?’” the Tennessee coach said. His friend replied that he needed time to think about what could help.
“But he said, ‘In the meantime, the best thing you can do is beat the Wildcats,’” Barnes said. “… This is a game. But, that’s a real-life tragedy, and I’m just really sad for those people. And I just know that we’ve got to keep them in our prayers.”
Bracketology
Tennessee improved its record to 17-13, and perhaps made a NCAA Tournament bid more plausible.
Barnes spoke of how the Vols had been through a season of struggle. UT lost its point guard and team leader, Lamonte Turner, in late December because of thoracic outlet syndrome.
Freshman Santiago Vescovi, a native of Uruguay, gained his eligibility a week before making his debut in Tennessee’s SEC opener against LSU.
“We felt like we had turned some corners,” Barnes said. “We told our team, ‘Your playoffs start against Florida.’”
Tennessee beat the Gators 63-58. And now, UT added a victory at Kentucky.
Tennessee, which is not in Joe Lunardi’s mock bracket nor one of the top eight teams on the bubble, finishes the season with another chance to enhance its stock: at Auburn.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 2:00 AM.
