Men's Basketball

Flop or Flagrant Foul: Immanuel Quickley and Yves Pons

Published

5 years ago

February 9, 2020

For the first time ever, I attended Thompson-Boling Arena yesterday for the Kentucky vs. Tennessee game. The arena is nice, the fans I sat around were nice, and the game was fun. Some drunk Vol fans were chanting “f*** Kentucky!” and talking trash about Lexington when we left, but otherwise, it was a fun experience.

One thing that has been consistently terrible in college basketball this season, well other than North Carolina, is college officials.

I didn’t think they were terrible in yesterday’s slate of games, but there were two egregious no-calls. One in the UT/UK game and one in the Duke/UNC game. One cost a team the game, the other didn’t, but one was much worse than the other.

I didn’t see the play happen live, all I saw was Immanuel Quickley lying on the ground and he appeared to be unconscious because he wasn’t moving. The refs didn’t even blow the play dead and finally John Calipari got the refs attention and walked out onto the floor. The refs wouldn’t let him on the floor at first but Cal won the battle as he walked out with Vol fans erupting in boo’s.

Should they have stopped play? Yes. Kentucky had possession and the ref was literally right there when it happened. Instead, all he did was shake his head.

I woke up this morning to see a lot of fans suggesting that Quickley flopped and that it was a good no-call. I couldn’t believe it. So let’s break it down.

Dude is moving and lowers his shoulder

And all the official does is shake his head.

Absurd https://t.co/8D19kcbKRO— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) February 8, 2020

Quickley isn’t even looking

It’s pretty clear that Kentucky is running a play to get Quickley open. No one else is moving besides him and Keion Brooks is setting a screen for him.

The thing that makes this even weirder is that Tennessee is on defense. Why on earth is Pon trying to set a screen? If he is simply trying to keep Quickley from running the baseline, this isn’t the legal way to do it.

Not set and leans in

If you watch the video closely, Pons isn’t close to set. He’s moving before he gets in front of Quickley and he clearly leans his shoulder in Quickley’s direction before they make contact.

I know one photo doesn’t do the play justice, but here’s the moment of impact.

Shoulder

I pretty much already stated this above, but I need to emphasize it a little more. Pons clearly sticks his shoulder out toward Quickley before they make contact. I wouldn’t really have a problem if he just moved laterally to get in front of him, but he clearly swings his shoulder at Quickley, making it even worse, and a dirty play.

The Ref

To cap it all off, there’s a ref standing right there and he does nothing. In the background, Nick Richards sees the play and goes nuts, the refs simply shakes his head, suggesting there’s nothing. I don’t know how you can see that in live action and do nothing.

Flagrant Two

This is clearly a Flagrant Two foul and Pons should’ve been thrown out of the game. He swung his shoulder at Quickley and made contact above the shoulder area. The play was completely unnecessary and wasn’t anywhere near the ball. Like I said, it looked like Quickley got knocked out because he went to the ground and didn’t move and was there for a lengthy amount of time.

For the ref not to even blow his whistle is absurd. There’s no way that’s a clean play in basketball. I would go as far as saying the ref should be suspended. He watches the play, doesn’t blow his whistle, shakes his head, and doesn’t stop play for an injured player on the team with possession of the ball (the rule).

After the game, Quickley tweeted this:

We out here playing football 😂😂 https://t.co/H5s5qKJXwy— Immanuel Jaylen Quickley (@IQ_GodSon) February 8, 2020

And to make it even better, the blind mouse that missed that made this call:

They called this a foul on Sestina https://t.co/HkNgZfNUXD— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) February 8, 2020

Don’t get me wrong, the refs made some bad calls on both teams. But, like I said above, unless your a homer who hates UK, this is an obvious foul call and an ejectable foul. No way is this a play on.

Thanks SEC refs.

Related Topics:Immanuel Quickley Kentucky Tennessee

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball’s Practice Facility Sees Major Makeover

The Joe Craft Center, after years of casual criticism from Wildcats fans, has finally been given an upgrade.

Published

23 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Lane Mills

UK Athletics

Maybe the weirdest qualm of many that plagued John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky were the consistent complaints about the team’s practice facility, the Joe Craft Center.

From exaggerated rumors about leaks in the ceiling to general observations made about the court and facilities, fans, especially towards the end of that era, pointed to the Craft Center’s age as one of many signs of the times. Even in spite of occasional, supposed changes now and again.

In only his second year, Mark Pope has seemingly already addressed that complaint — at least to an extent.

The official Kentucky men’s basketball account recently posted a video across all social media platforms of the team during summer practice, featuring and obviously removed Craft Center court.

The court itself has been redone, in addition to the graphics and banners on the wall. Alongside the hanging threads celebrating the program’s eight national championships, a ninth one has been tacked onto the end.

It simply reads: “#9 – The Assignment.” If fans weren’t already excited enough for Coach Pope’s sophomore season, a ninth title banner being fixed in the renovation’s spotlight should send folks through the roof.

It may seem like a small thing, but given the program’s track record in the last few years, it’s the small things that feel the biggest. Mark Pope not only understands the assignment, but he’s making sure his team does, too.

Men's Basketball

Jasper Johnson Makes Final U19 USA Roster Under Coach Mark Pope

Jasper Johnson has advanced in the U19 USA camp for the second time alongside the nation’s best recruits, and under Mark Pope’s wing.

Published

2 days ago

June 20, 2025

Lane Mills

Instagram: @bruhjasperj (UK Athletics)

In a surprisingly relevant development smack dab in the middle of the offseason, Jasper Johnson has yet again advanced in the pool of players participating in the USA U19 camp.

The program, which could be a described as a sort of extension of the Team USA that just took home the gold in 2024, is comprised of some of the nation’s most anticipated talents set to take collegiate courts in the next couple of seasons.

Blue Gets In

Among them is Kentucky native and commit Johnson, and was also incoming Cat Malachi Moreno, before the latter was cut as a result of a mild injury he obtained throughout the camp’s course. Despite Moreno’s exit, his future teammate continues to impress.

Under the wing of Coach Mark Pope, who’s helmed the team in the camp up to this point, Johnson has now made the final cut after multiple roster slashes – he and only 11 other players remain in the minority that will go forward to actually compete for the team in the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup, which will take place June 28 through July 6 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The pre-competition camp serves not only as a trial of play before these athletes disperse to their own respective rosters this fall and next, but for Johnson, as a preview of what it’s like to play under Coach Pope. If his current success is any indicator, Kentucky fans may be in for something special when the pair tackle opposing teams together for the blue and white.

In similar noteworthy news, also attending the event are Taylen Kinney and Tyran Stokes, two Kentucky-born athletes with ties to Kentucky that the program is heavily recruiting. Jasper’s strong performance, combined with Coach Pope’s presence, can only help the Wildcats’ chances on that front, too.

To say the least, Mark Pope has found a way to facilitate Kentucky’s influence far beyond the boundaries of Lexington. He and Johnson, for the time being, will continue to press turn heads on the national stage, and it’s very likely that fans aren’t the only ones paying attention.

Men's Basketball

Archie Goodwin and Kahlil Whitney Set to Join La Familia This Summer

La Familia continues to add more firepower to the 2025 roster.

Published

3 days ago

June 19, 2025

Kai McClelland

James Crisp (Left), Adam Hunger (Right) | Associated Press

As the start of the 2025 TBT Tournament inches closer, La Familia has been slowly but surely adding star Wildcats to the roster.

Usually, we see announcements for new additions to the squad roll out on social media in some form, whether it be a post from La Familia’s official accounts or in form of Ansley Almonor’s announcement, which took place on BBN Tonight.

However, this time, Archie Goodwin and Kahlil “The Dragon” Whitney were added to the roster on the TBT website without any announcement, surprising Big Blue Nation as the news leaked and began to circulate.

They were removed from the website afterwards, but as of Thursday, June 19, appear on the website as listed members of the roster.

Goodwin has been an active member for years, highlighted by his semifinals appearance last year where he averaged 13.8 points per game en route.

Whitney is a name that may cause some to shed a tear, with so much potential surrounding the former five-star leading up to his debut. Ultimately, he left the program after appearing in just 18 games for Kentucky.

La Familia is competitive as all get out, shown by chippy play with guys who have nothing to lose but everything to win for the place they call home. Goodwin and Whitney, now added to that list of guys, will look to redeem themselves with one goal in mind. Win.

The official La Familia roster as of June 19:

– Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15)

– Doron Lamb (2010-12)

– DeAndre Liggins (2008-11)

– Aaron Harrison (2013-15)

– Andrew Harrison (2013-15)

– Ansley Almonor (2024-25)

– Archie Goodwin (2012-13)

– Kahlil Whitney (2019-20)