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laHow has life on the Kentucky basketball team been for Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor?

“It has been great so far. Different but I can’t complain at all,” Almonor said. “I have been able to compete with the best guys in the country. Coach (Mark) Pope is so hands on and such a great teacher. I have so much respect for him. He cares about what you are doing. It has been a very different experience but a great experience.

“It has been great being surrounded by so much talent and that makes practice so great. I feel practices are so competitive and you are trying to win every day.

Almonor said at times it has been a “little shocking” at the mall or restaurant when so many fans recognize him.

“It has not been too bad yet. I have heard it gets worse during the season, but I actually like meeting the fans,” he said.

He said no one teammate has really surprised him because everybody is a “great player” much like he expected.

 “We are going to shock the world when we compete at the highest level,” the Fairleigh Dickinson transfer said. “A lot of people are not expecting us to go out and do what we plan and that is to win a national championship. We are going to shock the world when we win the national championship.”

His parents already appreciate what he’s done by just being at Kentucky.

“My parents are immigrants from Haiti,” he said. “Me playing at the highest level, they are really proud of me. They are anxious to come watch games in Kentucky and it already means a lot to them.”