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The reigning SEC Player of the Year is headed to the NBA Draft. Immanuel Quickley announced his intentions early this morning that he will be foregoing his final two seasons as a Kentucky Wildcats player and signing with an agent.
Quickley had a breakout year this pas season, really taking off against Louisville, and carrying that momentum into SEC play, in which he averaged close to 20 points per game while shooting at a 43% clip from three-point land.
Quickley leaves Kentucky as one of the more beloved players of the Calipari era and will now try his hand at the professional level.
Here’s how social media and the Big Blue Nation reacted to the news:
BBN THANK YOU! #GodGotUs! pic.twitter.com/XEUKcKlmBE
— Immanuel Quickley (@IQ_GodSon) April 13, 2020
.@IQ_GodSon was an absolute pleasure to coach over the last two years. I had as much fun coaching him and watching him grow than just about any player I've ever coached. https://t.co/tJj4TLa0XV
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) April 13, 2020
.@IQ_GodSon evolved into one of the best scorers of the @UKCoachCalipari era.
— Kentucky MBB Stats & Info (@UKMBBStatsInfo) April 13, 2020
Led @KentuckyMBB in scoring (16.1 ppg), 3-pointers (62) and 3-point shooting (42.8%) this season
Scored in double figures in 20 straight to end the season, the best stretch since @AhmadMonk https://t.co/nD0rc6C5G6
During the 20-game run to end the season, @IQ_GodSon scored 20 or more points in six of the last 13 games. He averaged 18.6 points with 50 3-pointers on 47.2% shooting from 3 during the run.
— Kentucky MBB Stats & Info (@UKMBBStatsInfo) April 13, 2020
Kentucky sophomore Immanuel Quickley is declaring for the NBA Draft and will forgo his final two years in college, per multiple reports. Had a heck of a season this past year.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 13, 2020
Immanuel Quickley had an amazing season and capped it off by winning SEC Player of the Year. I think it’s a wise move by him to strike while the iron is hot.
— Big Blue Express (@bigbluexpress) April 13, 2020
Junior Immanuel Quickley would have been awesome, but impossible for him not to declare here. Very well may have been the most improved and clutch player in the country. Dude was nails
— Bobby Reagan (@BarstoolReags) April 13, 2020
@IQ_GodSon yessir ! https://t.co/WcZBflOJ6m
— Dontaie A11en (@dontaieallen11) April 13, 2020
Immanuel Quickley is off to the NBA and will have a heck of a cheering squad behind him. Here’s my profile on the wonderful Quickley women from December. Congrats and best of luck to the whole crew! @IQ_GodSon @demetriacaldwe1 https://t.co/IjipFowdEd
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) April 13, 2020
6-4 #Kentucky G prospect Immanuel Quickley was playing the best basketball of his #Wildcats career before the college season was cancelled, including back-to-back career-highs in wins over #Florida (26 PTS on 4/6 3FG) + Texas A&M (30 PTS on 8/12 3FG) >> https://t.co/e51PsyAfH5 pic.twitter.com/KVWc25IoGB
— DraftExpressContent (@DXContent) April 13, 2020
All 5 Kentucky players that have won the SEC Player of the Year Award under John Calipari have all declared for the NBA in the very same year:
— BBNation (@BBNation15) April 13, 2020
John Wall (2010)
Anthony Davis (2012)
Tyler Ulis (2016)
Malik Monk (2017)
Immanuel Quickley (2020)
Immanuel Quickley’s evolution into a cold blooded killer from where he started was one of my favorite Kentucky stories of the Cal era!
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard925) April 13, 2020
Also, kudos for being such a strong person of faith on such a big stage!
Best of wishes @IQ_GodSon
pic.twitter.com/JtUIXdejYH
After inserting Immanuel Quickley into the starting lineup full-time at Arkansas on Jan. 18, Kentucky went 13-2 the rest of the way.
— Chris Fisher (@ChrisFisher247) April 13, 2020
Of all the multi-year players under John Calipari at Kentucky, only Tyler Ulis (+11.6 ppg) made a bigger jump in scoring average from Year 1 to Year 2 than Immanuel Quickley (+10.9 ppg).
— Chris Fisher (@ChrisFisher247) April 13, 2020
I know a lot of people wanted to see Immanuel Quickley return but he had to take advantage of a breakout year. There’s just no guarantee his junior year would be as good or better. He could’ve played point but what if he struggled or suffered an injury? Happy for IQ.
— Shawn Smith (@gbbcountry) April 13, 2020
Can’t wait to buy the jersey https://t.co/w576x0fUnK
— Hey Kentucky! (@hey_kentucky) April 13, 2020
Kentucky men’s basketball sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley announced his plans Monday to submit his name for the 2020 NBA Draft and forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 13, 2020
Junior Nick Richards is expected to be next, sources said.
Immanuel Quickley signing with an agent and headed to the draft. All the best young man! https://t.co/bzKbUpvDXt
— Dave Buzz Baker (@buzzbaker) April 13, 2020
Immanuel Quickley informs John Calipari he will be committing to Kentucky just minutes before making his public announcement. (2017)
— BBNation (@BBNation15) April 13, 2020
@IQ_GodSon pic.twitter.com/YtgZElN1OU
Would've been REALLY tough for IQ to duplicate his sophomore season next year at Kentucky. Because he wouldn't be asked to score as much with Boston and Clarke coming in. The need (for him and UK) would've been at point guard, where he might've been exposed. Made the right call.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) April 13, 2020
As I've said would happen since the day the season ended, Immanuel Quickley has declared for the NBA draft. He'll go down as one of the best stories of the Calipari era at Kentucky - from struggling as a freshman to SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) April 13, 2020
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