MEDIA DAY: Sestina brings experience to young UK roster

The reality of being a Kentucky Wildcat finally kicked in for Nate Sestina the day he walked into the locker room and saw his new jersey hanging in front of him for the first time.

"I'm not going to lie," he said. "I got choked up. That was so cool to see."

Some players may take that for granted upon arriving at college basketball's all-time winningest program. Many of the five-star prospects who have come through Lexington were seemingly unfazed by the magnitude of their new home, having already spent several years in the recruiting limelight.

Not Sestina, a native of tiny Emporium, Pa. --population 1,877 -- who comes to Kentucky via Bucknell as a graduate transfer.

An unheralded high school prospect from the Class of 2015, Sestina turned himself into a productive Division I player at Bucknell, averaging 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season before choosing to test himself at a higher level.

"It was a great opportunity," he said during UK's annual Media Day. "... It's really humbling."

It was good timing. Kentucky needed to boost its frontcourt after missing on several big man targets in the 2019 recruiting class. When John Calipari saw a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward available who had scored 20-plus points on 10 occasions (including a 32-point effort against Holy Cross) he likely had flashbacks to Reid Travis, the grad transfer from Stanford who helped lead the Cats to an Elite Eight last season.

They are different type players, however, Calipari noted at Media Day.

"(Sestina) is like a stretch 4," said the UK boss, contrasting that style with the bull-around-the-basket Travis. "He shoots it, good with the ball."

Sestina shot 38% from the 3-point line a year ago. He made five of his last 10 attempts from long range, scoring 23 and 21 points in his final games at Bucknell. He was also an 80% free-throw shooter.

"He can play some 5, but if you play him at 5, you're probably going to stretch the court with him and probably post somebody else," Calipari said.

"Nate can really shoot," said UK point guard Ashton Hagans. "He's really going to help us, having a big man who can face up like that and pull the defense out away from the basket."

Asked about his role on the team, Sestina said: "Just stretching the floor out, being able to see stuff before it happens. As a big man, I'm a pretty good passer and an unselfish teammate. I'm never going to hunt my own shot."

One of the first things Sestina had to do upon arriving in Lexington was to change his body composition. A foot injury similar to the one former UK star PJ Washington experienced caused his weight to balloon to 260 pounds when he first got to campus.

"It was all sitting in the middle of my stomach," he said with a laugh. "... I was really disappointed the way I came in. I had really let myself go."

With the help of both the strength and conditioning staff and the nutritional specialists at UK, Sestina has lost more than 25 pounds. He is now a chiseled 234.

"I feel great," he said. "I'm moving a lot better, especially my lateral movement... In July, (teammates) were blowing by me. Now, I'm able to stay with them a little bit."

The biggest thing he's learned during his time at UK?

"You have to be ready to go, like, every day," Sestina said. "... You have to fight for every minute of practice, and for me, I had to mentally prepare myself for that."

His new coach likes what he has seen.

"He's really been a great addition to this group," said Calipari, who praised Sestina for being one of the vocal leaders in early practices. That could prove to be a valuable characteristic for a UK roster that features 10 underclassmen.

Calipari joked that, at times during practice, if Sestina is not communicating on the floor, the Wildcats are "like crickets."

"It comes from playing college basketball for four years," Sestina said. "My coaching staff at Bucknell was really, really big on communication... Even if you're on the bench, you'll hear me during the game screaming because I know guys are going to forget something. They'll be so tired or worried about something else, that they'll forget what they're supposed to do. I've always tried to be that extra voice."