Walk-on from John Calipari's old Pittsburgh stomping grounds doing his part to help the Wildcats be the best team they can be.
On his goals for the upcoming season as a walk-on surrounded by another highly regarded recruiting class...
"'What's your role?' comes up a lot. I know my role is to just help these guys as much as I can. That's what I do. I try to be a leader. I try to talk. I know we've got crazy shooters and better players on the team, so they're not going to put me in the game for my shooting or dunking ability, but maybe I can help out in other ways."
On occupying a spot on a team that thousands of kids across the Commonwealth of Kentucky would do almost anything to have...
"My freshman year, when I first got here, I didn't know but I do now. You don't really think of it that way until you are in this spot. And there are other days when you are tired of it, and you realize how lucky you are to be at Kentucky... I just wake up every day and try to enjoy it."
On walk-ons getting an opportunity to play for Calipari in the past...
"That's why I practice hard, trying to stay ready for the opportunity."
On how walk-ons are treated by Calipari compared to the high school All-Americans...
"We're all treated the same. He keeps it real with everyone."
On whether he's been chewed out in practice...
(Laughs) "Oh, sure. Sure. It's the little things that make him a great coach, and he'll get on you hard for not doing the little things - like grabbing the ball with two hands, for example. That comes up a lot."
On what conversations with Calipari are like outside of basketball...
"He's real easy to talk to about anything. We're both from Pittsburgh, so we talk about the Steelers or Penguins mainly."
On leadership roles he can assume being one of the older players now...
"Whether it's in practice or off the court, with school or going out to eat or whatever, I feel like I can help them out."
On being around so much talent during his time at UK...
"It used to amaze me, but I've gotten use to it now. It's fun to watch them come in as a kid and leave like they're a senior. I'm just glad I can play a part in helping them reach their goals."
On listening to the newcomers complain about the academic part of being a student-athlete...
"Definitely. I don't want to hear any of that. (Laughs) They're not even taking any of the hard classes yet. Stick around two or three years and see what those are like."
On the pick-up games leading up to this season...
"They've been really fun, competitive, for sure. We're all athletes who like to compete. We did not get to this position by not having a competitive drive to win, even in pick-up games."
