Kentucky Wildcats vs Florida Gators Postgame Notes and Quotes
By Brian True
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
#15, Willie Cauley-Stein, F
On his progress from his freshman season to now …
“Words can’t describe it, I guess. It’s one of those things that you look back on later in life and realize you made history. Now, you’re living it. It’s not really history yet. I feel like, myself, I’m just now reaching the surface. I still have a lot left to show or to give.”
On what fuels him more, going to the NIT or sitting out last year …
“Probably sitting out. The NIT thing was bad…just bad. I didn’t really have any control over it. Last year, just to see everybody have fun and in the tournament and stuff was worse than losing.”
On the advantage of having fans at SEC Tournament …
“I mean, it’s for them. We’re not really worried about the SEC Tournament. It’s more like we’re playing for the fans there. They’re going to travel everywhere anyway but especially there. That’s really what we’re playing for when we go there is for the fans and everything.”
On playing basketball for Kentucky …
“It’s probably one of the best things you’ll probably do in your life is playing here. Having the fans enjoy seeing you play and enjoy learning about you as a person. That never leaves here. You’re going to always be part of that family here, so it’s a great feeling.”
#12, Karl-Anthony Towns, F
On the importance of a perfect season …
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“For us, the perfect season doesn’t matter to us. A national championship is what matters to us. That’s what our goal is.
On his thoughts of how they won every game …
“We’ve been having a lot of tribulations, you know, and special trials, too. To make a feat like this is amazing. It’s a school record, I think but also for us it doesn’t matter about all that. It’s about getting better every day as individuals and as a team. We’re coming closer every day, and I know for a lot of people we look so close, but we’re actually getting closer, and thats a scary thought.”
On the play of Trey Lyles today …
“Today is just another showing of how great he is, how great of a player he is and how talented he is. You can talk about a game, you can talk about a season, but I think everyone knows how special Trey Lyles is.”
#41, Trey Lyles, F
On the reflecting on a 31-0 regular season …
“We take pride in it but our journey is not done. We have a lot of work to do and we only have two guaranteed games left in our season so we have to make sure we go out there and play hard and together. It just shows how great these guys are on the team, and how much we care for one another and how much we want to win. We share the ball and a lot of teams wouldn’t be able to say if they share the ball or not, but we have a lot of great guys on the team that are sharing with one other and thats what makes us good.”
On being 31-0 …
“We’re not done yet and there is still a lot of basketball we have left to play. We all knew that we would make some noise and do something historical. We just have to go out there and if it’s our day to win then we’re going to win.”
On Calipari saying he’s as good as any player in the country …
“I just have to go out there and perform, play as hard as I can and to the best of my ability.”
Next: Kentucky Wildcats Top Florida Gators on Senior Day, Now 31-0