SEC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

18. Immanuel Quickley

Quickley is a 5-star recruit who joined Kentucky back in 2018 but wasn’t quite a one-and-done. This 6’3 wing from Havre De Grace, Maryland was an important part of the Wildcats’ backcourt for two seasons in Lexington before moving onto the professional level during the pandemic.

In actuality, Quickley didn’t get much run in his freshman season, starting just a few games and averaging just over 5 points a game on offense for the Wildcats. He’d play in the Elite Eight that year, though it was his second collegiate year where he jumped into the spotlight. He’d average 16.1 points and 4.2 rebounds across that sophomore year, including a 30-point effort at Texas A&M late in the year. He took Kentucky to an SEC regular season title, but the pandemic cancelled the postseason.

For that special sophomore season that was unfortunately shortened, Quickley was named SEC Player of the Year. He emerged into a major name with the Wildcats and was a great player on both sides of the ball. He was one of the nation’s top free throw shooters and had an impactful presence on the court while at Kentucky. He was then taken late in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.