Sophomore Guard Quade Green Will Transfer From Kentucky
After seeing his role get reduced over two years and 43 games wth Kentucky, sophomore guard Quade Green has decided he will transfer from the program, the team announced Wednesday.
A five-star recruit according to 247 Sports coming out of Philadelphia's Neumann Goretti High School, Green started 13 of the first 15 games of his collegiate career. He was eventually moved to the bench in the middle of his freshman season for fellow first-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has since moved on to the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, where he is the starting point guard.
Despite, moving to the bench, Green was still used by coach John Calipari for his strong shooting, but he was not given the chance to play on-ball as much. Green averaged 9.3 points in 25.6 minutes while shooting 37.6% from three.
This season, Green has remained in his bench role, but his minutes have dropped down to 17.8 per game. He is shooting 42.3% from distance, but only averaging 7.8 points per contest. Over the last two games, Green has seen his role dwindle even smaller. He played a combined 18 minutes in Kentucky's 78-61 win over UNC Greensboro (eight minutes, 1-for-3 from the field for 2 points) and Saturday's overtime loss to Seton Hall (10 minutes, 0-for-2 from the field for 0 points).
"I have loved my time at Kentucky and love Coach Cal and the staff," Green said in a statement. "This was a difficult decision and one I didn't take lightly. However, after talking with my family and the coaching staff, I just felt like it was best that I explore other opportunities for my athletic and academic future. I have enjoyed my time at Kentucky and I'll never forget the Big Blue Nation for its love and its support."
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On Tuesday, Calipari told the team Green was contemplating the transfer in case any of the players wanted to persuade the former McDonald's All-American to stay in Lexington, Kyle Tucker of The Athletic reports. Tucker adds that Green missed a team workout Wednesday morning prior to his decision being determined.
"I met with Quade yesterday and we talked through a lot of different things," Calipari said in a statement. "The thing that struck me most is what a great kid Quade is. He felt like he was in a position that he couldn't overcome and he had the maturity to come in and sit down and talk through it with me.
"Quade has my full support with this decision. We haven't had many kids leave, but when we do, we always support them and, in just about every case, stay in touch with each other. I hope that will be the case with Quade."
With Green gone from the 7-2 Wildcats, freshman Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley and Tyler Herro will all likely see slight increases in their workloads. Redshirt freshman Jemarl Baker, who was recruited in Green's class last year but missed all of last season and the first eight games of this one due to knee issues, will also be in contention for the minutes that need to be filled due to Green's departure.
No. 19 Kentucky's next game is Saturday, Dec. 15 at home against Utah.
