Kentucky Basketball: Quade Green talks return to UK, new teammates and those transfer rumors

Quade Green is back for his sophomore season, and he hopes to lead UK to bigger and better things in his second year in Lexington.

Green met with the media Thursday to talk about his summer, the newest Wildcats and what he’s improving on among other topics.

”I feel great coming back. I feel like I’m a veteran now,” said Green. “I’m the old guy on the team, so I have to take care of the young guys and I have to take care of myself and the team. Hopefully we all click together when the season starts and go from there.”

Not long after his freshman season ended, rumors persisted that Green was considering a transfer, but he ultimately decided to remain at UK. On Thursday, Green said there was never any thought he’d leave Lexington this soon.

“I just laughed about it,” he said. “That was all rumors. Never even crossed my mind. That was all the media, not me. I wasn’t paying any attention to it.”

Green had a solid start to his freshman season, but he slowly fell out of favor as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became one of the best point guards in college basketball. Now that Shai is off to the NBA, Green will one again have a crowded backcourt and plenty of competition for a starting spot.

He thinks it’s a good thing, especially with the number of shooters this group includes compared to last season.

“We’re going to have a lot of guards. We’re going to have a lot of guards that can dribble, shoot, so they won’t be crowding up on you on the paint,” said Green. “Everybody can spread it out.

“We have a bunch of shooters on our team. It seems like everybody can shoot now, so you really have to guard everybody now. You have to guard us now because we’re able to shoot at the 1-3 (positions).”

While UK will have a deep roster, Green is just working to help his team out in any way possible.

“Wherever they need me to, I’m there,” he said. “If they need me to play the 5 spot, I’m going to play the 5 spot. If that’s where they need me, that’s what they need.”

As for the newest Cats, Green has enjoyed getting to bond with them this summer, and he hopes it lays the foundation for a special year in Lexington.

”We’re bonding, really. Ever since day one, since we came here, everyone’s been bonding as a team,” said Green. “We’re playing pick-up (games) every day – nothing better than that when you’ve got a new team coming in. They’ve been asking some questions, how things go, and we tell them what the routes are, and that’s it.”

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