Skal Labissiere is a player who doesn't shy away from competition. In fact, he embraces it. Instead of going to a school where he could load up on shots and pad his stats, the 7-footer chose to go to a place where he was going to be challenged.
On a visit to UK, he played pick-up ball against the Cats and got “killed” by Willie Cauley-Stein, who he said went to work on him. Instead of shying away from the competitiveness of the pick-up games though, Labissiere relished it, ultimately making his decision that much easier.
“I'll find any way that can make me better,” Labissiere said. “I thought coming here was going to make me better so that's what I chose to do. I remember coming here on my visit and I saw what the level of competition was – there was nothing compared to this at the other schools I visited. I love competition, I love getting better, I love playing against the best because that's going to make me a better player.”
That work ethic then makes sense when you hear what his career goals are.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.