Jaland Lowe talks playing through risk of re-injuring shoulder

The Kentucky point guard says he is limited in certain on-court actions because of how fragile his shoulder is.

Kentucky Wildcats guard Jaland Lowe (15) reacts after a basket against St. John's | Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It is no secret Kentucky basketball had a rough start to the season before Jaland Lowe returned to the court. Lowe returned for the game against Gonzaga in Nashville, but was extremely limited, especially once the Wildcats quickly went down big to start the game. It was the Indiana game where Kentucky fans finally got to see their point guard back in action. For the first time since Nov. 11, Lowe was able to make a real impact.

Lowe went out just seven seconds into the game against Indiana, and his presence was felt. Once he returned to the game in the second half, Mark Pope's Kentucky squad outscored the Hoosiers 30-11 from then on to win. Then there was the St. John's game when the Wildcats were actually fully healthy for the first time all season with star big man Jayden Quaintance making his debut. You guessed it. Lowe had yet another injury scare and returned in the second half, which was when Kentucky pulled away for the win. His presence is clearly important for this Kentucky team.

The Kentucky point guard survived Saturday's loss to Alabama without a scratch, but says he is limited with how aggressive he can be because of that fragile shoulder. Lowe says his shoulder has felt fine, but he talked about the limitations he has on the court on Tuesday with media: "I don't know if ya'll notice on TV as much or in-person, but sometimes when you're on the court, you can realize that I'm not doing some things that I would love to do in the moment, just as a competitor and a fighter, I can't do some of those things, I have to pull back sometimes just to not put myself at a huge risk." Is it frustrating for him not being able to dive on the floor for loose balls and be as aggressive on defense as he was early in the season? "Yeah, it's frustrating but if I wanna play I gotta do it."

Lowe's teammate Mo Dioubate knows exactly how important not just Lowe is to this Kentucky team, but Jayden Quaintance, too. Dioubate was asked how he feels about the starting lineup with all of the pushback Pope has gotten from fans for still not starting Lowe and Quaintance, but especially Lowe, who has already knocked off the rust and also playing full minutes as if he is starting: "I think players, as long as they’re on the court when they feel like they need to be, when the game is on the line, if they’re able to play enough to where they can impact the game, they wouldn’t care as much. But a guy like Jaland, he's our best point guard, so I'd love to see him out there on the court with me. JQ, he's still finding himself a little bit. He had been out for nine months. Still finding his confidence a little bit, still finding his way through the offense. But, I think he's figuring it out. He's gonna figure it out. I feel like If we allow those guys to play a little more and stuff, it's gonna build the momentum of the team. It's gonna look like what people have been imagining."

Lowe played 27 minutes off the bench for Kentucky and put up 21 points in their 15-point loss to Alabama. As for Quaintance, he played 24 minutes off the bench. Seems like normal minutes to me. Why not start them, or at least just Lowe, because he has been at full strength for a few weeks, even having a two-week break with sitting out against Bellarmine? We'll see if Pope decides to do something with the starting lineup on Wednesday against Missouri, but based on his comments Monday night, it doesn't sound likely.