Former University of Kentucky guard Immanuel Quickley was chosen by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 25th pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night. UK Coach John Calipari soon after confirmed to ESPN that Quickley will be traded to the New York Knicks.
He was the second ex-Wildcat off the board, following Tyrese Maxey (21st to the Philadelphia 76ers).
Quickley was named the SEC Player of the Year after leading the Cats in scoring at 16.1 points per game. He also averaged 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 42.8% from three-point range during his sophomore season.
"Immanuel was an absolute pleasure to coach over the last two years," UK Coach Calipari said when Quickley announced he was declaring for the draft. "I had as much fun coaching him and watching him grow than just about any player I've ever coached. ... he absolutely works his tail off. He takes his conditioning seriously, has unbelievable discipline, unwavering faith, confidence and spent just about all of his extra time in that gym.
"His reward: SEC Player of the Year, as voted on by the coaches. I've been in this league for 11 years and only had that happen three other times. Think about that with some of the kids we've had go through here."
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