Immanuel QUICKLEY
Point guard Immanuel Quickley, who landed with the Knicks in a draft-night trade after being selected with the 25th-overall pick by the Thunder, takes a shot at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby. Q: What is the most unfair criticism you’ve heard about you? A: Probably that I’m a nice guy off the floor, so that probably means I’m a nice guy on the court. Q: Why would that bother you? A: ’Cause I feel like I’m a dog on the court (chuckle). Q: From one of your social media posts: “It took a lot of unseen effort to make it look this effortless.” A: For example, SEC Player of the Year, everybody sees the trophy and the pictures and all that stuff, all the glamor and stuff, but it was a lot of hard work, crying and pain and confusion, so it’s a lot that goes into success. Q: Why were you crying? A: Just hard days. ... Kentucky’s not easy, Kentucky’s not for everybody, like Coach Cal [John Calipari] always says. There’s days where it’s hard and you just gotta fight through it and just grind. Q: Describe the hardest single day at Kentucky. A: Probably after my game at Louisville my freshman year. I just played bad ... biggest adversity I’ve ever gone through as a basketball player. It just felt like I wasn’t good enough almost. Q: So when you left the arena, you went back to your dorm? A: Yeah. ... I got in the gym though that night, for sure. Q: Was that one of the nights you were crying? A: Yeah, that was one of the nights I was. Q: Where is your confidence level now? A: All-time high. I come from the best college program in the world.
Q: Another post: “Can’t be afraid to miss.” Was there a time when you were afraid to miss?
A: Probably my freshman year [at Kentucky]. But I think that’s where my sophomore year I made the biggest jump. I missed a lot of game-winners my sophomore year, but I think that was probably the biggest thing, I wasn’t afraid to miss. I would go into the huddle before the possession and be like, “Coach Cal, let me get this one.” And he would trust me, and I think that’s the biggest thing probably why I was most successful ’cause I wasn’t afraid to fail. Q: You’ve been compared to John Wall and Jamal Murray. A: I feel like I’m my own player. I feel like I’m a point guard,d can playl offff theh bball,ll on the ball, can shoot it, can defend, create for teammates. I feel like I’m just a versatile player. CJ McCollum is somebody who can do both, can create for his teammates, floaters in the lane, that’s somebody who I look at a lot.
Q: Tell me how you met Zion Williamson.
A: Through Adidas. We played on the same AAU circuit, and we went to a whole bunch of different places — Italy, Spain, I think, and Aruba — and he was my roommate for all of those trips. Q: What kind of guy is Zion? A: He’s definitely cool. I haven’t seen him in two years, so I don’t know how he’s changed, but he was just laid back. ... You wouldn’t know that he had a million followers on Instagram.
Q: What makes Zion, Zion on the court?
A: Most people think he’s just a dunker, but he can pass, dribble, can shoot a little bit, obviously really athletic, plays defense, plays hard and he’s a great teammate. Q: What was he like as a roommate? A: I guess we were 18 at the time. ... He was just goofy, like I ddon’t’t kknow (smile).il) WWatched thd cartoons and things like that. Q: What do you think of fellow first-rounder and new teammate Obi Toppin? A: From what I can tell he’s really competitive. He texted me and said, “Let’s turn this around,” like the day after the draft, so I can tell he’s really competitive and wants to win.
QQ: DDescribeib ththe fifirstt titime you played at Madison Square Garden. A: We played against Seton Hall. There was an energy and buzz in the arena, like before the game had started, it was like none other.
Q: What do you remember about new teammate Myles Powell?
A: That was one of his better games. He hit a big shot. He carried that team their whole year. I think he had like three points going into halftime and he finished with like 27, so that just shows you what type of confidence he has in himself, he’s never gonna quit. Q: Who did you look up to as a kid? A: Probably LeBron [James]. Q: Will he ever be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan? A: Absolutely. Q: The ’96 Bulls versus the 2018 Warriors, who wins? A: In what rules and regulation? Q: Today’s rules. A: Oh the Warriors. . .. You can’t like ride somebody the whole way down the floor like MJ and [Scottitie]] PiPippen usedd tto ddo. AAndd ththe league is, I don’t want to say soft, but from what I’ve heard it’s a lot different. They want to see more offense, and back then I feel like they wanted to see more defense. Q: What did you think of “The Last Dance” documentary? A: My biggest takeaway was probably just the mentality that Michael Jordan had every day, whether he got into with a teammate or his coaches, he just wanted to win so bad. Q: Describe the toughest single practice under former Kentucky assistant, and now Knicks assistant coach, Kenny Payne? A: I don’t remember which game, but we had this thing called 15 touches, and it’s full-court 15 touches in a minute, 30 seconds, and I think we ran like three of ’em, and everybody was on the court laying across the ground after the third one ’cause it was just crazy, we were so tired. Q: When did you start playing the drums? A: Played the drums all my life. Q: How did that start? A: Pots and pans, putting ’em on the ground and just started banging on ’em and then eventually I just got good. Q: You also play saxophone? A: I played the saxophone from third grade to ninth grade in high school. Q: What does music do for you? A: Everything. It’s kind of like basketball in a way. Sometimes you’re just playing off of what you feel. Q: Three dinner guests? A: Michael Jordan, Steph Curry and Kevin Hart. Q: Favorite movie? A: “Coach Carter.” Q: Favorite actor? A: Will Smith. Q: Favorite meal? A: Chinese or hibachi. Q: What do you think will it be like playing on the big stage? A: It’s gonna be cool. I feel like a little bit like Kentucky as far as Kentucky has 25,000 sold out every night no matter who we play, that’s kind of how the New York Knicks are, high expectations just like Kentucky, so I’m ready to get started.