Despite there being no postseason play, Immanuel Quickley continues to pile up the accolades recognizing his terrific sophomore season.
CBS Sports has named him alongside some of the best players in the country by recognizing him as a Third-Team All-American. Now the SEC Player of the Year has another impressive award under his belt. CBS Sports is considered to be one of the most respected All-American teams that is selected.
Immanuel Quickley was joined on the third team by Maryland’s Jalen Smith, Duke’s Tre Jones, Minnesota’s Daniel Oturu, and Michigan State’s Cassius Winston. That is some pretty darn good company for a guy who started the season coming off of Kentucky’s bench before transforming into a college basketball superstar.
When you sit back and really think about where Quickley came from early in his career at Kentucky to where he is now, the development truly is remarkable. Seemingly overnight, the sophomore guard became a lethal scoring machine that no defense had an answer for.
Starting with UK’s huge win over Louisville on December 28th he had one of the more dominant runs of any player in the Calipari era. Quickley scored double figures in the final 20 games of the season, which included a 30-point explosion against Texas A&M. On the season, he finished averaging 16 points a game while shooting nearly 43% from long range.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s fairly obvious that he was primed to make a major impact in postseason play for the Wildcats. It’s just another example of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the world of college athletics.
Head coach John Calipari recently said that he expects him to go through the NBA draft process, which is no surprise.
But who knows. Maybe the Big Blue Nation will see Quickley suit up for one more run at championship No. 9.
If so, First-Team All-American?