Quade Green will transfer from Kentucky

UK has officially announced the transfer of Quade Green. He told folks yesterday it was going to happen but he would sleep on it, but Green obviously was comfortable enough with his decision to make it official on Wednesday.

Here's quotes from Green and John Calipari via the UK press release:

Green:

“I have loved my time at Kentucky and love Coach Cal and the staff,” Green said. “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.”

Calipari:

“I met with Quade yesterday and we talked through a lot of different things,” UK men’s basketball head coach John Calipari said. “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.”

T.J.'s Take:

I think this is pretty big news. Green was UK's best shooter and now he's been taken out of the equation. Obviously Calipari and UK's staff wasn't crazy about Green's overall game because he was playing nearly 10 fewer minutes than last season, but he was always a threat to hit open threes and seemed well liked by his teammates. In my opinion, Calipari saw a higher ceiling from Tyler Herro, Ashton Hagans and Immanuel Quickley and that's why those three guards played more in the first nine games of the season. All three players were better defenders than Green. I haven't heard anything about Green being a distraction in the locker room, and like I said he seemed well liked, but if he didn't want to be at UK I'm not surprised that things moved this fast. Green's mom suggested that Green may not make a final decision until after the weekend, but I couldn't imagine Calipari allowing that to hang over the team for that long. This does provide a nice opportunity for Jemarl Baker to come in and be an outside threat for the Cats, but UK's primary backcourt is going to Quickley, Hagans and Herro. Three freshmen. How quickly they can grow up will likely determine the type of season the Cats have this year. Best of luck to Quade. Matt Jones thinks he ends up at Washington but also mentioned Syracuse and Villanova as possible destinations. I think he stays close to home, but there's no inside info on that guess. [mobile_ad]