"We are all that way. Everyone wants to win. We all have different methods of getting there. He wants to win, and that is his No. 1 goal."
What have you heard about freshmen Patrick Patterson and Alex Legion from your former teammates?
"I have heard Patterson is just an unbelievable player who is really going to help us out. He is strong and when he gets it down low, he is going to finish. He has great hands. I heard Alex Legion is a great shooter. Both are really going to help them out this year."
Have you had a chance to talk to Tubby Smith since he left Kentucky?
"I haven't. Not at all. Not once since the day he said he was first taking the job at Minnesota. I have not heard from him since. I don't know anybody that has, either."
Do you think you will eventually hear from him, or hope that you will?
"Now at this point if he has not contacted me, I just say no big deal. If we run into each other, I will say hi. But I don't think it will happen. I haven't talked to him in three or four months now. It has been a while."
What was it like when a free throw lane violation by teammate Sheray Thomas helped Mississippi State rally to beat Kentucky in the SEC Tournament last season?
"Tubby realized it was his fault, or he apologized for it after the game might be a better way to put it. I was on the free throw line and Coach was talking to me and Sheray. I saw the official throw the ball (to the shooter).
He (Smith) said, 'Move off the line.' I didn't move because I knew where the ball was, but Sheray's head was turned toward him and he didn't know where the ball was.
"That game was one of the most memorable ones for me at UK. We came back and had the game in our hands, even in overtime. I cried after the game. That and the Vanderbilt game at Vandy last season were two tough losses to get over."
Will former players be welcomed back by new coach Billy Gillispie?
"He will. I haven't really used the facility much, but he said any time I wanted to come and work out, it was a given. He said to come back and play with the players and tell them anything you want and teach them stuff. He is that kind of guy and think it will be that kind of program where anyone is welcomed. Once you are a Wildcat, you are always a Wildcat.
"It's good to see players welcomed back like that even after they leave Kentucky. That is how you want your coaching staff to feel about former players."
You found time to speak at the UK Ohio Convention and have talked at several schools and churches recently. Do you wish you could have done more of that during your playing career?
"It would be hard. Guys have to play pickup and go to school. Even during the summer you just want a day to relax or go down to the lake. We stay really busy. When we do have breaks, it is tough to do anything else but relax and have some fun. When you are in school, you just stay too busy with basketball to really do anything else."
What are you doing now and what are your future plans?
"I am working for a development company in Jessamine County. I always wanted to get into real estate. I have a passion for that and I am learning so much. I probably could have made a lot of money playing in Europe, but that is not where my heart is. I have a girlfriend I love to death that I did not want to leave.
"I am staying in Lexington because that is where God wants me. That is where I have the most influence to spread the gospel because that is what God blessed me with. I know where I am supposed to be."
