ROUNDTABLE: Immanuel Quickley's big decision
Perhaps the biggest unanswered question regarding Kentucky basketball as we look towards the 2020-2021 season is whether guard and SEC Player of the Year winner Immanuel Quickley might return for one more season at UK.
Quickley will make that decision for himself in the weeks ahead but for now we're left to speculate and weigh some of the same evidence that he will also take into account.
Our topic of discussion: Will Immanuel Quickley return for another season? Also: Should he (bearing in mind that he's the only person who can make the most educated decision on that point).
Travis Graf: I’m going to set a precursor in my response in saying that I don’t truly know the Quickley family’s (or any family’s) financial situation. The Quickley family is also a family of strong faith, almost in a completely unique way, so that could play a part in the decision one way or another.
It’s my belief that Immanuel Quickley has reached his peak draft potential if he views himself as an off-ball basketball player. Scouts want to see him handle the ball more in college to show them that he can be a secondary ball-handler in the NBA. I think Quickley is better off the ball than he is on the ball, but if he believes that he can be a player who helps handle the ball at the next level and be a ball mover instead of just a knockdown shooter, he could use another year of college basketball. My vision for Quickley in the NBA is a ‘3&D’ player who is an assassin from the outside and often guards the other team’s best guard when in the game. My favorite comparisons for Immanuel Quickley are Seth Curry and Landry Shamet.
I’m torn at what Quickley should do because, as I stated, I think he’s better off ball and has a higher ceiling as a non ball-handler. If he wants to add overall value to his game and potentially raise his stock, coming back to run a team for a year could bump him into the early second round or late first round. It’s also worth noting that next year’s draft is much deeper than this year’s. I think Quickley will explore all of his options and that it’ll be a gut-wrenching decision with a lot of contemplation from all possible angles. I think that it’s truly a 50/50 situation, or at most a 60/40 situation right now, but if you absolutely made me choose, I think he goes pro as of today.
David Sisk: I will admit that I’ve already had my mind made up, but I don’t think Immanuel Quickley will return for his junior season at Kentucky. It’s hard to envision a highly successful sophomore coming back. But this situation is a little tricky. I think he can make his way to an NBA roster next year, but he won’t get guaranteed money. Could another year in college help him achieve that? I don’t think it could as a shooting guard because he is not going to grow. I think the NBA sees him as a two that isn’t big enough. But what if John Calipari tells him he can play the point if he returns? There is a lot of uncertainty going around right now, so who knows how that feeds the situation? Right now I would say no, but the door isn’t tatty closed to him returning.
Justin Rowland: I would be really surprised if Quickley returns for another year but I understand why a lot of people are thinking about the topic. I can't help but think a "best case scenario" long-term for Quickley in the NBA is someone who can either play the point or be on the ball more, as my colleagues here have outlined before me. He's going to be drafted and I wouldn't be shocked if he's picked earlier than even current mocks have him, which is the peak of his professional hype thus far. But if he were to come back as the reigning SEC Player of the Year, compete for National POY honors, and answer any and all questions about whether he can run the show as a distributor in addition to being a big-time shooter and scorer, he could be a very high selection. This isn't a situation where there's only like a 5% chance that he returns but I don't think it's close to 50% either. One factor working for Kentucky is he's just a different kind of kid, in a good way, and that could introduce some uncertainty that creates a little drama.
Jeff Drummond: I think Immanuel Quickley would benefit from returning to Kentucky next season. I also think that's the most likely thing to occur. Immanuel has a different mindset than some of the players we have covered at UK. I don't sense that he's in a rush to get out of college, and I know how much his family values education. He doesn't have the prototype size for an NBA 2-guard, so he could use the 2020-21 season to play the point for the Cats and improve his draft stock. Showing the scouts that he can handle the ball and run the offense will give him an opportunity to leave as a first-round pick next year.