Kentucky's Health 'Will be Vital' to Making NCAA Tournament Run
NASHVILLE — Kentucky basketball will have one goal in mind before it begins its NCAA Tournament quest.
Get healthy.
Perhaps the lone bright spot of the Wildcats' 80-73 loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament on Friday night is that coach John Calipari's team now gets an extra two days of rest to try and get as close to full strength as possible.
It's a simple thought, but an important one. Kentucky has been shorthanded for the majority of SEC play, putting together hodge-podge rotations, resulting in an obvious lack of consistency.
The backcourt has taken the brunt of the beating. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler has now missed nine games in a row, due to an ankle injury and an unrelated "minor procedure." Shooting guard CJ Fredrick's injury-riddled season now witnesses him battling through cracked ribs, while standout freshman guard Cason Wallace returned on Friday night from a lower-leg ailment.
"We probably need to get healthy," Calipari said. "Having some time off may play in our hands, even though I'm not happy with the outcome of the game. But we got to get everybody healthy and go on this next run."
Calipari said that both Wallace and forward Jacob Toppin practiced just once last week, further hindering late-season continuity. When speaking to reporters after the loss, Toppin told Wildcats Today that he was healthy, not acknowledging or offering any injury he may or may not have been dealing with.
"I wasn't even sure they were going to play," he said in his postgame press conference. "I thought we were going to end up having to do what we did at Arkansas: just figure out how to get it up the court. That's what I thought we were going to do."
The return of Wallace was — and still is — crucial to the Cats making a run in March Madness. He wasn't scoring at will on Friday, but his stat line still read seven points, five assists and four rebounds. His season averages entering the NCAA Tournament are 11.6 points, 4.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds-per-game.
The Dallas native has also fought through back spasm issues throughout the season, a lingering issue that doesn't just go away for good. He's worn a back brace when on the bench, and when talking to reporters after the loss on Friday, had just taken off a bulk of protective tape and padding, as if he had just gotten done playing a football game instead.
"I feel like if I can play I'm gonna play. I'm not gonna, you know, sit out a game that I can play," Wallace said.
That mindset follows Fredrick's, who went in-depth about the pain that he's been dealing with after the game. Over a month ago, the shooting guard connected on a tough layup, subsequently running into a cameraman that was under the basket. That collision caused the rib issues.
"Honestly, at first, I didn't really know what was happening. It kind of knocked the wind out of me, but when you're in a game like that, you don't immediately think I might have cracked my ribs," he said. "It's really unfortunate to land on a TV camera, but that's kind of what happened. That's the game, so I got to deal with it."
Fredrick missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a torn hamstring that was suffered in layup lines before the Cats' season-opener against Duke in the Champions Classic. He made his way back to full health this season, but has also dealt with a dislocated finger that was suffered on Dec. 28 against Missouri, forcing him to miss a few games.
Point blank, the Cincinnati native cannot catch a break and now has to play through the NCAA Tournament less than 100 percent. He has played just 29 minutes in his last two games.
"It really only heals with rest. There's not a lot of resting right now," Fredrick said. It's just going to be one of those things. You just got to deal with it. There's really nothing else you can do."
The biggest question mark remaining is Wheeler. He was the only senior not in attendance on Senior Night, having his procedure done earlier in the day on March 1. His return seemed unlikely once that was announced, but Calipari still had hope that the veteran PG could see the floor next week.
"He went through some practice stuff the other day. So I think he's getting closer. Hopefully he's going to be able to give us some minutes," he said of Wheeler. "Again, you're not going to play 30 minutes, but he can give us minutes, just like CJ gave us minutes."
Wheeler — who averages 7.7 PPG and 5.6 APG — has also dealt with other injuries this season. He missed the season-opener against Howard due to a knee ailment, while a shoulder injury notably kept him out of UK's stunning road win over Tennessee in Knoxville. He was unavailable to speak to media following Friday's defeat to the Commodores.
As dull and lackluster as a second loss in nine days to Vanderbilt may be, the point still stands. Extra rest is extra rest, and this Kentucky team needs as much time as it can before trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the Big Dance.
"Obviously, we're still writing our stories," Toppin said. "So now we got more time for guys to get back healthy and that's what we're going to do. Obviously, we're going to take this punch to the chin and understand that we have to be better if we want to make a run in the tournament."
"We've got to get three or four good practices in with a full team," Calipari added. "It's going to be vital. It will be vital. We have to have them on the floor. I haven't checked to see where guys are, but we're going to have to do that."
More on the loss to the Commodores HERE.
Everything Calipari said after the loss HERE.
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