Players

#13, Sam Malone, G, Fr.

On if he hears the fans screaming for him during games …
“Yeah, it’s fun. The fans are the best part. I mean, the bench is the best part, really. I love to see them get up off the bench. It just makes it really fun for me.”

On what his teammates say to him when they’re on the bench …
“They’re just saying ‘Good job, keep doing that.’ They’re all great guys and I really appreciate them getting off the bench for me.”

On if there’s any hesitation to shoot it when he hears the fans …
“I mean, I like feeding off the crowd a little bit. They get me excited. I know I’m not going to be yelled at from Coach if I shoot it, so, might as well throw it up.”

On if he feels like he might as well make the most of it when he gets into the game …
“Yeah, definitely. I’m eager to get into practice whenever I’m needed. Since the beginning of the year I’ve been getting in a little bit more and more each time. I’m just hungry to play, dying to play.”




#25, Marquis Teague, G, Fr.

On how he felt he played against Radford …
“I feel like I played pretty good, under control. I tried to be a leader on the floor.”

On if he’s trying to focus on being a leader …
“Yeah, every game I’m trying to lead on the floor. That’s my main focus.”

On if he thinks he was ready for the spotlight that the point guard at Kentucky receives …
“I didn’t really think about it too much. I just came here to play basketball and get better. But once you actually live this life it’s pretty crazy. The fans here are great. They’re pretty crazy like Coach Cal always says.”

On if he has sleepless nights if he doesn’t play well …
“Yeah, I had some sleepless nights after a few of my games. I was pretty upset with how I played. But I slept pretty good last night.”

On if he wants to work harder when he doesn’t play up to his own standards …
“Yeah, it’s tough; it makes me want to come to the gym to work out more and get more shots up after the game depending on how I play.”


#33, Kyle Wiltjer, F, Fr.

On if he feels like he’s still in a feeling out process with how his teammates play …
“Not really for each other’s games, we all know what we can do. We’re just trying to get into the flow of offenses, where we like to operate and just playing basketball. Sometimes we don’t have to run a set every time, just like Coach said, just run our dribble-drive and share the ball well.”

On playing Portland on Saturday, being a Portland native …
“Yeah, not a lot of the guys are from Portland, but I’ve definitely done open gyms with those guys so it’ll be cool.”

On how much they think or talk about the North Carolina game on Dec. 3 …
“I mean, it’s always something on our mind, but we try to focus on one game at a time and get better. We can’t jump ahead like that. We’re using every game as a learning experience to become a better team all around.”

On if it’s difficult to stay focused …
“No, we’re a very focused team. We know what we have to do to become better. Every day in practice we want to bring it because that’s a game we’re looking forward to.”

On if he thinks all of their games help prepare them for games like the one Dec. 3 …
“Oh, most definitely. After we play a game we watch film and see what we need to work on and then in practice we work on that. It most definitely helps us prepare for those games.”