John Calipari Provides Injury Updates for Kentucky Guards Ahead of SEC Tournament
Kentucky basketball stepped up to the plate over the weekend in Fayetteville, fighting past Arkansas for an 88-79 win to close out the regular season.
That win gave the Wildcats the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament, which will begin on Wednesday in Nashville. The importance lies in that the Wildcats earned a double-bye into the quarterfinals.
Even more important than being two steps closer to the tourney title? Two extra days of rest for Kentucky's beatdown backcourt.
Neither point guard Sahvir Wheeler (minor procedure) or Cason Wallace (ankle) played in the win over the Hogs due to injury. Shooting guard CJ Fredrick (cracked rib) was hurting, but took the floor and played important minutes, earning high praise from coach John Calipari in the process.
The health of all three now becomes all the more emphasized as the Cats will possibly play three games in three days this weekend. On Monday during his call-in radio show, Calipari gave an update on the guards:
“They didn’t practice today," he said. "Our practice was a film session, things that I want to add to how we’re playing and a situation we may confront. It was about an hour, so they did not practice."
Wheeler is expected to miss the tournament, as he didn't play in the final eight games of the regular season. He underwent his procedure last Wednesday, with Calipari noting that we be out at least "a couple weeks."
As for Wallace and Fredrick, time will tell.
"You don’t just say, ‘OK, I’m ready for Friday.’ No, you’re gonna have to get on the floor at some point. We’ll see," Calipari said.
Fredrick was tabbed the most valuable player after the win over Arkansas by Calipari, saying that UK "doesn't win that game" if he didn't play his 15 minutes that saw him total two points and four assists.
He doubled down on those comments on Monday:
“The night before, I said, ‘CJ, I know you’re hurting, but I need you for five minutes a half if you’re capable of doing it.’ He said, ‘I am.’ I said, ‘Do you want to start or do you want to come off the bench? I just need you five, six minutes a half.’ He said he’d do whatever I wanted him to do," Calipari said. "He gave us everything he had, and without him we don’t win the game.”
Kentucky will not be 100 percent in the Music City, the question is just how shorthanded will it be?
The Cats will be the final game on Friday night at Bridgestone Arena, playing the winner of Vanderbilt vs. Georgia/LSU. They'll practice on Tuesday and Wednesday before making the trip down.
More on the win over the Razorbacks HERE.
Everything John Calipari said after the win HERE.
SEC awards for four Wildcats. More HERE.
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