< Previous48 @KentuckyMBB Off the court with NICK n Dream vacation would be to Dubai n Enjoys watching anime and his favorite show is "Nitro" n Loves dogs and has a German shepherd named Luna n His all-time favorite movie is "The Wolf of Wall Street" n Participated in cricket and soccer while growing up in Jamaica n Chose Kentucky over Arizona, Connecticut and St. John’s 2018-19 Declared for the NBA Draft but elected to return to school for his junior season ... Ap- peared in all 37 games in 2018-19 with 147 points, 123 rebounds and a career-high 47 blocks … His 47 blocks led the team … Led UK in blocks in a team-high 16 games … Posted two double-figure scoring games and two double-figure rebounding games … Fill- ing in admirably without the injured PJ Wash- ington, scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in 17 minutes vs. Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA Tournament … Posted six points and four rebounds in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifi- nals vs. No. 8/8 Tennessee … Recorded nine points in the SEC Tournament opener vs. Al- abama … Blocked three shots in three of the five games Reid Travis missed due to injury from Feb. 23 to March 9 …. Scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots in his third start of the season at No. 7/7 Tennessee … Put together one of the best games of his career with seven points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots in the win vs. Arkansas … Scored seven points with four rebounds at Missouri … Recorded a sea- son-high 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting in ad- dition to four blocked shots in the win at Van- derbilt … Swatted a career-high five shots in nine minutes in the win vs. No. 9/10 Kansas. Personal Born Nov. 29 in Kingston, Jamaica … Major is community leadership and development ... His mom is Marion Tenn … Has one sibling, Sharique ... A soccer enthusiast who lists Cris- tiano Ronaldo as his all-time favorite athlete ... His mother has influenced his life the most ... A talent he most wishes he had is the ability to draw well ... Chose Kentucky over Arizona, Connecticut and St. John’s. Forward n 6-11 n 247 n Jr. NICK RICHARDS Follow NICK on Social Media n @iamnickrichards on Twitter n @nickrichards_ on Instagram #4 Kingston, Jamaica@UKSportsNetwork 49 Off the court with NATE n Nickname is Sesti n Earned a degree in geography from Bucknell n Has had at least one cup of coffee every day since he was in 10th grade n Favorite activity outside of basketball is fishing with his dad and brothers 2018-19 (Bucknell) Tabbed Second Team All-Patriot League and was tabbed to the Patriot League All-Tourna- ment Team ... National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District selection ... Ranked second on the squad and sixth in the league in points per game (15.8) and led the team and league in rebounds per game (8.5) ... Shot 53.6 per- cent from the field, 38.0 percent from 3-point range and 80.8 percent from the charity stripe ... Played in 31 games ... Scored in double figures in 27 contests ... Posted a career-high 32 points and broke the school record for most field goals without a miss (11 of 11) against Holy Cross ... Scored 10 points at Ohio State ... Named to the Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg. 2017-18 (Bucknell) Appeared in 34 games and averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game ... Shot 56.0 per- cent from the field and 74.4 percent from the free-throw line ... Charted seven games with double-digit points ... Had 14 points in a win over Siena ... Scored seven points and had seven boards in NCAA Tournament game vs. Michi- gan State ... In four postseason games, he shot 73.7 percent from the field and totaled 32 points and 20 boards. High School First Division I player from Cameron County since the 1970s ... Averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds and had 26 double-doubles in 28 games as a senior ... Finished with 1,703 career points and 955 rebounds. Personal Born May 12 ... Parents are Donald and Rachelle Sestina ... Pursuing a graduate degree in kinesi- ology and health promotion ... Youngest of five siblings ... Brother, Andrew, played basketball at Allegheny College ... Mother was a swimmer at IUP ... Grandfather, Richard Gaydos, played football at Carnegie Tech ... Graduated from Bucknell with a degree in geography. Forward n 6-9 n 234 n Gr. NATE SESTINA Follow NATE on Social Media n @NateSestina23 on Twitter n @natesestina4 on Instagram #1 Emporium, Pa.50 @KentuckyMBB Off the court with RILEY n Sister, Haley, is serving in the Peace Corps n Was the 2014 Adidas Unrivaled assist leader n Is a vegetarian n Won a county or conference champion- ship during all four years of high school basketball n Enjoys going to the beach in his free time 2018-19 (College of the Desert) Saw action in 27 games ... Averaged 8.2 points per game for the Roadrunners ... Also contributed 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game ... Dished out a team-high 134 assists ... Sunk 31 shots from behind the arc ... Scored a career-high 29 points vs. San Jacin- to on Feb. 1 on 9-of-11 shooting and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line ... Recorded 19 points vs. West LA on Nov. 2 ... Twice tabbed to the College of the Desert Dean's List. 2017-18 (UC Irvine) Appeared in 27 games as a true freshman ... Played double-digit minutes four times ... Scored five points in his collegiate debut at Denver ... Dished out four assists and hit a three against Chapman ... Had three assists in six minutes at Montana ... Snared four boards to couple with two points vs. UC Riv- erside ... Two-time Dean's List honoree. High School Played for Chatfield High School ... 2016 Chauncey Billups regional champion ... School reached the Colorado High School Activities Association Final Four in 2016 ... Three-time league champion ... Two-time Jef- ferson County All-Conference ... 2014 Adidas Unrivaled assist leader ... Finalist in the 2013 USA U-18 3x3 Tournament ... Phi Theta Kap- pa Honor Society. Personal Born Sept. 26 in Fresno, California … Par- ents are John and Jean Welch … Has a sister, Haley ... Major is bachelor of liberal studies ... Father played basketball at UNLV and has served as a coach in the NBA for 15 years ... John Welch is currently serving as an as- sistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers ... Grandfather Coley was the third-ranked boxing middleweight in the world in 1941 ... Chose No. 13 because it was Steve Nash's number ... Proudest moment as a basketball player was suiting up for UC Irvine for his first collegiate game. Guard n 6-0 n 185 n Jr. RILEY WELCH Follow RILEY on Social Media n @Riley__Welch on Twitter n @riley__welch on Instagram #13 Littleton, Colo.@UKSportsNetwork 51 Off the court with KAHLIL n Scored more than 2,000 career points in high school n Father, Kelly, played basketball at Seton Hall n Father game him his nickname "The Dragon" n Most memorable basketball moment is winning a state high school championship n He and former Wildcat, Isaiah Briscoe, both attended Roselle Catholic High School Tabbed the No. 11 overall player by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index in the 2019 class ... Consensus five-star prospect ... Ranked in the top 15 by every major re- cruiting service, including 247Sports (No. 11), ESPN (No. 12) and Rivals (No. 14) ... 247Sports tabs him as the second-best small forward in the class ... Named Naismith High School Boys' All-America Third Team ... Secured All-USA Today New Jersey First Team honors ... Averaged 19.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for Roselle Catho- lic ... Second alum from Roselle Catholic to play under John Calipari at Kentucky, join- ing Isaiah Briscoe ... Scored in double fig- ures in all 29 games during his senior season with 11 games of 20 or more points ... Led Roselle Catholic to the New Jersey's Tourna- ment of Championship as a junior ... Aver- aged 21.1 points and 7.2 rebounds on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit ... Scored more than 2,000 points during his high school career ... Participated in the McDonald's All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic Game and the Iverson Round- ball Classic ... Named co-MVP at the Iverson Classic after scoring 38 points in the contest. Personal Born Jan. 8 in Chicago ... Major is unde- clared/exploratory studies in agriculture ... His parents are Kelly Whitney and Chanel Tillmon … Has three siblings, Kylie, Tyre- ese and Isaiah ... Father played basketball at Seton Hall ... Also played football as a kid ... Nickname is the Dragon ... Can play the drums ... His most prized possession is his family ... Father has been his life's greatest influence ... Most memorable moment as a basketball player is winning a state champi- onship ... Definition of a true hero is some- one who changes the lives of others ... Chose Kentucky over Oregon, Illinois, Georgetown and Miami. Forward n 6-6 n 210 n Fr. KAHLIL WHITNEY Follow KAHLIL on Social Media n @KahlilWhitney on Twitter n @kahlilwhitney on Instagram #2 ChicagoBy Susan Lax UK Athletics Communications and Public Relations For the fourth straight season, the Ken- tucky Wildcats are bowl eligible! Kentucky enters the bowl (to be an- nounced on Sunday, Dec. 8) with a 7-5 re- cord on the strength of a 5-2 finish to the reg- ular season punctuated by a three-game win- ning streak. UK has won at least seven games in four straight seasons, tying the longest streak in school history, behind a bruising ground game that ranks fifth nationally and first in the SEC with 274.4 yards per game. The Wildcats have reformed their offensive identity behind wide receiver turned quarter- back Lynn Bowden Jr. The All-America candi- date and Paul Hornung Award finalist for the nation’s most versatile player, has rushed for 1,235 yards (1,136 in his seven starts at QB) and is averaging 8.2 yards per game, second in the nation and on pace to break the school record. Kentucky’s offensive line, the Big Blue Wall, has a lot to do with Wildcats’ impres- sive run game this season. Behind the Big Blue Wall, UK has put together its fourth consecutive season of 2,000 or more rushing yards and a school-record fourth consecutive season with a 1,000-yard rusher. The Wild- cats have done this despite missing three departed starting linemen from a year ago, the school’s all-time leading rusher from last season, and this year’s top three quarterbacks are all injured – two are out for the season – and the current starting QB is a converted wide receiver. The UK offensive line, currently one of 10 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award given to the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit, boasts three returning starters in junior center Drake Jackson, senior left guard Logan Sten- berg and redshirt junior left tackle Landon Young. Also seeing action is senior Mason Wolfe, junior Luke Fortner, sophomores Aus- tin Dotson, Darian Kinnard and Naasir Wat- kins, along with redshirt freshmen Kenneth Horsey, Nick Lewis and Quintin Wilson. That ground game complements a de- fense that has overcome the loss of national defensive player of the year Josh Allen and its entire starting secondary to once again be- come one of the nation’s best units. UK ranks tied for 13th in scoring defense (18.4 points per game) and 24th in total defense (324.3 yards per game). Special teams play features the nation’s top punter in Max Duffy. The Ray Guy Award finalist and All-America candidate leads the nation in punting, averaging 48.6 yards per punt. With Duffy’s distance and placement, Kentucky leads the nation in net punting with a 45.13-yard net average. Only nine of Duffy’s 47 punts have been returned this season (19 percent) and 24 of his punts have landed inside the 20-yard line (51 percent). Who can forget his rushing skills as he ran 26 yards on a fake punt for a first down against Missouri. Public ticket sales for Kentucky’s bowl game will begin after the bowl announce- ment, and tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. Dates and further details of a potential public sale will be communicated on Sunday evening, Dec. 8. Follow along with the Cats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com. Bowl Eligible for the Fourth Straight Season 52 @KentuckyMBBClick on Player Names for More Information 54 @KentuckyMBB @UKSportsNetwork 55Click on Player Names for More Information 56 @KentuckyMBB 17 | F/C | 6-10 | 216 Portland Trailblazers GMS PPG. RPG. APG 22 6.1 5.1 1.1 @UKSportsNetwork 57Next >