After his team beat Virginia Tech 93-86 Saturday, Kentucky coach John Calipari was in a really good mood. So good that he could even joke about freshman point guard Quade Green wearing sunglasses to protect a right eye injury he suffered a week earlier in UK’s win over Harvard.
Green scored 17 points, had five assists and made just one turnover. He didn’t start but was on the floor 90 seconds into the game.
“Just so you know, because I kind of felt bad for him, I was going to wear sunglasses today, too. I told the team I was going to. I thought, if he has to do it, I’ll do it with him, we’ll both have sunglasses,” Calipari joked with media members.
“But I didn’t want to be — it would have been a national story, and there he is, he wears jeans on the plane, this bum, this guy. Who does he think he is? He thinks he’s at the beach, who is this guy? But that’s why I didn’t do it.”
Sure that’s why.
But Green might want to keep doing it because he was pretty smooth the entire game.
“He played good. I think he’s gotta keep the shades on. I think he’s gotta save them shades until he has a bad game,”
UK freshman Hamidou Diallo, who had 20 points, said.
Green said it was his first time wearing sunglasses.
“I just played my game. Doesn’t matter what I’ve got on. I could have ‘Timbs’ on- boots on- I’m still gonna play my game,” Green said.
He’s known for wearing unique tennis shoes, so maybe boots could be next.
“It was the best game for us as a whole, really. Kinda had to have toughness. It was a good game because Virginia Tech came out firing. It was hot from the 3-point line. It’s just another thing we gotta do and understand that we’re all together. Ain’t no one-to-one stuff. We all gotta win as one,” Green said.
Kentucky will play UCLA Dec. 23 in New Orleans before returning home to host Louisville Dec. 29th and Georgia Dec. 31st to open Southeastern Conference play.
“It’s crucial. Today was crucial. Next week is going to be crucial. And then the next week after that is going to be crucial. When we play Georgia it’s going to be crucial. We all just have to come together and win every game we can,” Green said.
