by LARRY VAUGHT
With point guard Jaland Lowe down with a shoulder injury again, will that make Kentucky coach Mark Pope even more hesitant about determining when sophomore center Jayden Quaintance is ready to return from the knee injury he suffered last season.
Lowe first injured his shoulder in June and then dislocated his right shoulder again in mid-October in the Blue-White Game. Lowe re-injured the shoulder again in practice before the Cats played Louisville.
Quaintance has yet to play this season and Pope has been vague about setting any specific timeline for his return. Quaintance was one of the nation’s best freshman defensive players last year and would give UK a potential dominating inside presence at both ends of the court when he’s able to return.
“I would say with JQ, I have not spent a lot of time worrying. I’m just excited when he’s ready to go and it’s going to be fun,” Pope said. “We have so much to figure out with JQ and he hasn’t been in any type of live action and it will have been nine months since he’s actually done anything live and had any contact at all.
“I’m way more curious than I am worried. I’m curious about how quickly he’s going to learn us and how he’s going to fit into the deal and what type of impact he can make and what type of player he’s going to be. I think players, you see them on film, and you look at their numbers. You kind of spend time with them and you get references. But there’s still a growing process once they actually get into us, into Rupp (Arena), into our style of playing and learning that. I think that’s where I’m more preoccupied is just fitting the pieces together.”
After Kentucky beat Loyola (Md.), Pope confirmed to Tom Leach on the UK Radio Network postgame show that Quaintance was making “real progress” and has been in two-on-two live drills with the scout team.
“I almost had a heart attack cause (when Quaintance did that) I thought he just snuck into the drill. I was like B-Wells (trainer Brandon Wells)! But he was like, ‘Nope, he’s cleared to do it.’ So he’s making terrific, terrific progress.”
