Immanuel Quickley gives free youth clinic

Kentucky Wildcats recruit Immanuel Quickley recently finished his high school senior project, and what he did for it raised some eyebrows.

Quickley put together a free basketball clinic for the youth in his community. The kids involved were middle schoolers from the 5th to 8th grade. While doing this he also put together a community all-star game to also help try to raise money for the local Boys and Girls Club.

LEX18 got to speak with Quickley’s mother, Nitrease Quickley.

“He’s very passionate about basketball and doing things for children that make a difference. He enjoys basketball and wanted to create a free basketball clinic for kids in his community.”

Quickley decided to split his clinic into two sessions in an attempt to make the event accessible to more kids, and it paid off. The future UK guard ended up with almost 50 kids coming out to the clinic with him.

He used this time with the children to talk to them about his path to college basketball, and about how he was in the same place they are right now. He knew that reaching out to them while they were young and giving them a message of hope was necessary for pushing them to pursue their dreams.

“His speech was basically, ‘I am just like you,’” Quickley’s mother said.

Immanuel seemed to truly look forward to this upcoming season at Kentucky. The passion and drive he exerts will be an underrated asset for this team. I'm sure that Kentucky players and fans alike can’t wait to see him when he joins the team on June 2nd.