PRESEASON INTERVIEWS
NOV. 20, 2020
FRESHMAN GUARD DEVIN ASKEW
On the point guard competition with Davion Mintz …
“It’s going great. Me and him compete every day in practice. It’s fun learning from an experienced point guard, a veteran point guard like him. He’s obviously been in college for five years now and he knows a lot. So, I just learn from him every day.”
On what he’s learned from Mintz …
“Just the way that he helps lead our team. I’m a pretty good leader, but I’m seeing the way that he leads. It’s giving me the extra edge. It’s fun. It’s fun learning from him.”
On the differences between his and Mintz’s games …
“I mean, I’m a pass-first point guard. Davion, he scores the ball and he can pass as well. He can really shoot the ball well. I can shoot it, but he can shoot it really well. But, yeah, it’s just two point guards.”
On the advantages of both point guards being able to also play off the ball …
“You can do whatever with our team. We have a lot of guards and we can play anywhere on the court. With us being able to do that, you can put anyone at the one, anyone at the two, even at the three.”
On Kentucky being named the best program of all time by CBS …
“I believe our program is No. 1 just like they say. It’s different when you come here. You really learn the game. You learn to play at the next level. Like, we’re being taught next-level things from Coach and all of the other coaches. Just by competing every day at a high level, and at the level that we want to be at next year, it makes us different. It speeds up our learning process, which is hard, but it is good for us because it gets us ready and that’s why I think we’re No. 1. I think here, they develop pros here.”
On learning from Darren Collison …
“Well, one, learning from DC, Darren Collison, learning from an experienced vet, a professional NBA guard, just the pace of the game, what to look for, the patterns on the court. Most of all, mostly teaching me how to be a leader, being a young guy coming into a program where I’m probably the youngest on the team and being able to still lead and not let that affect anything.”
On how he leads despite being the youngest …
“I mean, we have a lot of leaders on our team. We have Keion (Brooks Jr.). You’ve got Davion (Mintz). But, being the youngest, just not being afraid to use my voice and to be vocal out there. That’s what I do every day. Try to be vocal and that’s how I can help lead this team.”
On how he’s dealing with being so far away from the West Coast, his home …
“I’m not like other West Coast kids. That doesn’t affect me.”
On how important it is to be a role model to his younger brother and other young kids with the platform he’s on at Kentucky …
“It means the world to me to be a role model for my younger brother and other little kids because I remember being a youngerkid and looking up to older players and just the excitement. I just remember watching everything the older players would do and how it motivated me. So, I understand that, with my platform, I’ve got to work my hardest and just be a great example to the young kids, so it means everything.”
On what it means when he says he’s not like other West Coast kids …
“A lot of West Coast kids want to stay home and they’re afraid to go far for college and stuff like that. That’s not me. I want to be different – and I am different. I feel like coming here was best for me, so I did it. And it is best for me. I’m learning a lot. I’m learning new things every day. I’m not the type to where, if I come out here, I’m out here. I’m not leaving.”
On how prepared he is for the peaks and valleys of being a freshman point guard …
Just stay level-headed. Not getting too up, not getting too down. Like you said, the peaks and valleys, there are always highs, there are always lows. Just trying to stay on a straight line and keep a steady pace. Not go up, not go down.”
On if anyone has helped him with the ups and downs …
“Darren Collison, one of my trainers back home. He played in the NBA. He’s just one of those who always preached that to me. ‘Stay level. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low, because there will be bumps in the road and there will be highs.’ ”
On what point guards he admires or other point guards his game is like …
“I’m myself. Yeah, I’m myself. I play the way I play. I don’t like to compare myself to other people because I believe there is no such thing as like—I get a lot of comparisons of Deron Williams, but there will never be another Deron Williams. He’s himself. I’m myself. So, I feel like I play like myself. I have my own style of play.”
On why he brings so much energy to the court …
“That’s just the way I’ve had to play my whole life. I’ve been the smallest. When I was the younger I wasn’t the fastest kid. I just had to bring a whole lot of energy to the team, to the game. That’s how I get going is energy. That’s what I do best.”
On how he would describe himself on and off the court …
“On the court, just very competitive. Always going to fight. Energetic and someone who is always going to be vocal. Off the court, I wouldn’t say quiet but just easygoing, going with the flow. Whatever happens, happens. But I’m just very locked in and focused in on basketball right now so I would say everything is based on basketball right now.”