13, Isaiah Briscoe, G:
On whether or not he is surprised to be back …
“Not really with the new rule. I think I used it to the best of my ability, and, on the 25th I had a long conversation with Coach Cal and KP (Kenny Payne) and we all agreed that it was best for me to come back to school.”
On if it was an easy decision or tough decision…
“In a way it was kind of hard just because I was doing so well in the workouts, but I think that the conversation me and KP had brought everything to the light, and it made it more obvious that it was good for me to come back to school.”
On your conversation with Coach Payne …
“He was just saying, mostly what he was talking about was security and I guess that’s with me like going in the first round, you know the security. And, it made a lot of sense and I want to feel secure. And, what he was saying was, by this time next year you should only want to focus on getting better. You don’t want to worry about getting a guaranteed contract like that or anything. So, I think that played a key role into me coming back to school.”
On feedback you got from workouts …
“The feedback was good. They said my shot was better than they thought. But, going back to school and showing them that I can shoot consistently wouldn’t hurt me at all.”
On how he felt to not get an invite to the combine …
“I mean, I thought I was going to the combine, but once I found out that I wasn’t, you know, still working out and waiting on NBA teams to call and give me a full workout.”
On how many workouts he did …
“Six.”
On what he will do as a leader of the team …
“One, I just got to lead by example. That’s one thing, and that’s on and off the court. These freshmen came in and they look up to me. And, you know some of the guys last year look up to me and come up to me for questions like that, so my main focus this year is lead a young group, and lead by example on and off the court.”
On what he sees as his role next year as a guy in the backcourt …
“Just running the team. And, that doesn’t mean score all the points. That doesn’t mean, yeah, score all the points. It just means making sure that everything is in order. Be a second coach on the court. You know, build a better relationship with Coach Cal. And, just lead the young guys. Like a floor general.”
On what he’s told the young guys to expect …
“They don’t know what to expect, but I tell them it’s hard. But, I mean if you love to work, it shouldn’t. It shouldn’t be hard for you at all because I enjoy working out. I enjoy getting better. So, Kentucky to me is just like, you know, just like any other workout, any other place I’ve been to work out. I just love getting out there.”
On if he thinks he will get the ball in his hands more this year …
“Yeah, I think so.”
On how difficult it was the change last year to not be the primary ball handler …
“It was difficult. You know, it was a struggle for me in the beginning. I had to get used to it, you know. Not too many people can do it. But, I accepted the role. And, as a winner, I just want to do whatever it takes for my team to win. They needed me to play defense and grab rebounds and that’s exactly what I did. ”
On if he is telling the new guys about what to expect with Coach Cal …
“Everyone has their own experience. So, mine is different from Tyler’s (Ulis). Tyler’s is different from Jamal’s (Murray), mine will be different form the freshman this year. So, everyone has their own experience with Cal.”
On how to describe his relationship with Cal on and off the court …
“Well I think our relationship has been a little better. We’ve been meeting probably like once a week, or we will text maybe twice a week. And, just to make sure everyone is in check and everyone is doing what they’re supposed to be doing. And, he looks to me to make sure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do. So, I think that he is trusting me more than last year. And, I don’t want to let him down so I am just out here doing whatever I have to do to make sure that the team is fine.”
14, Tai Wynyard, F:
On the experience at the 3-on-3 tournament …
“It was a lot of fun. We didn’t get to win. We came in fourth, but it was a lot of fun.”
On using his size to feel dominant on the court at the 3-on-3 games …
“Being able to be one of the biggest there that obviously has a big advantage. I’m able to play inside a lot more. I mean, having only half of the court as well, allows you to go inside a lot more instead of running up and down the court. That obviously helped a lot. ”
On playing the 3-on-3 games in Kazakhstan …
“It was a really different kind of place. Obviously whenever you go traveling around the world it’s going to be a little bit different. The people there were a little bit different. It was a really nice place and stuff, but it was just different.”
On what he is going to work on for the rest of the summer …
“Just everything really, my whole game. We’re working on a lot of conditioning and weight room right now for the summer, so that will be really good. Also my skills, my shooting.”
On the outlook for this season …
“We have a really good team. We’ve been training really well lately. We’ve had a couple of pick-up games. The team’s looking really well. We’re doing really well, so it should be a lot of fun.”
On his confidence increasing from the 3-on-3 games …
“It increases a lot, but the players that I was playing against there, aren’t really as great as the players that I’m playing against here. There it’s not really college basketball. It’s a lot easier to play against kids my own age, around the world it’s a different game. But yeah, I’m feeling confident coming into this.”
On his comfort this year after coming in late last year …
“Being able to come in late last year just got me to see the program, and see how much work you have to put in, and how much they really want you to do stuff for the program. The entire behind the scenes stuff like academically and physically. It was definitely a huge advantage for me to come in early.”
On expecting all of the stuff that comes with being a student-athlete at Kentucky …
“It was really surprising especially for me coming straight from New Zealand.”
On how coming in last year has prepared him physically …
“Definitely. Coming in earlier has gotten my conditioning up more. It got me to see how I can work back home. Obviously back home you don’t get that much conditioning or that kind of work.”
On his role this season …
“I mean hopefully I have a role on this team. Everyone on this team wants a role. The first thing in the first meeting that Coach Cal said was that none of you have been promised minutes, none of you are promised anything. It’s all just completely open.”
On what he brings to the game …
“I mean, I’m going to try to dunk on everyone if I can. I’m going to try to be physical. I’m going to try to play strong by setting great screens and getting rebounds and things like that.”
