Kentucky’s Kyle Wiltjer, Alex Poythress, and Nerlens Noel talk about the win over Lafayette.
#33, Kyle Wiltjer, F
On how he reacted to Coach saying the team needed to work on getting up shots and staying on the court as much as possible …
“We did a good job in practice moving without the ball. I didn’t move without the ball and that’s why I didn’t get any open shots. He just wanted me to shoot open shots when I had them. He is confident in me as a shooter. I just wanted to come out tonight and move and space the court well so I can either get stuff from my teammates or get open shots.”
On hitting four shots in less than three minutes …
“It is always good as a shooter when you see some of them go down. Especially when I kind of went on a bad shooting spurt in the beginning of the second half and to see some go down is a good feeling as a shooter.”
On being able to shoot baskets from any spot on the court and not just having a sweet spot …
“It was a great feeling. I really want to give credit to my teammates just finding me the ball. In new sets we just really worked on spacing. It is great from Coach Cal teaching us where to go when we don’t have the ball so we are not just standing around.”
#22, Alex Poythress, G
On his energy level matching Nerlens Noel in the future…
“Hopefully I will be like Nerlens. He is a character out there but hopefully I can have his energy out there.”
On connection with teammates…
“Yes I feel the connection. We are coming closer as a team, we are getting used to playing with each other and we are just having fun out there.”
On what goals the team has…
“Just improvement as a team. We are trying to get better, make strides to progress so that we can be good. That is all that really matters.”
On knowing his own strength…
“No it has not dawned on me yet. Archie and Julius tell me I don’t know how big I am because I bump into them and stuff like that. I am just trying to get a feel for the game myself.”
#3, Nerlens Noel, F
On Coach Calipari’s comments about his hustle…
“I think it is pretty good. I have to make sure I stay up with it and just really get the guys going. Whether it has to go through me to get the energy level up, that’s how it can be, but I’ll do anything to help my team.”
On if he has always been a high-energy player or if it is new in college…
“I have always been a relatively high-energy guy, but now since I’m at a higher level I have to bring it every night. I just always have to be active for my team, make opportunities for the fast break and getting steals on the floor. I’m just doing it for my team to get going.”
On if he has always been a guy that dives on the floor…
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve always been on the floor. It’s the only way you are going to get that ball.”
On Kyle Wiltjer’s shooting performance tonight…
“He’s an assassin, a sniper. He gets the ball in the rim. It is amazing how effective he is on the perimeter.”
