Mark Pope says Jaland Lowe won't be held out of any game moving forward

Jaland Lowe has re-aggravated his shoulder injury multiple times since he first suffered the injury in the blue-white preseason scrimmage, including exiting back-to-back games before being held out of Tuesday's game as a precaution. Lowe is such a valuable part of this Kentucky team, and that has showed itself numerous times this season. When he's in, Kentucky's offense runs smoother and their energy is better on defense.

Although Lowe was held out of Tuesday;s game against Bellarmine, don't expect to see that anymore moving forward. Mark Pope expects him to play full-strength moving forward. No limited minutes, no sitting out. They'll need him from now on, especially, as SEC play begins on the road on Jan. 3 at Alabama. The more time Lowe gets to heal, the better.

"He had a little bit of soreness, just a little bit of pain (Tuesday). So, we were just made the calculated decision to (hold him out). When he steps on the floor, I'd like him to be full-strength. I think that's gonna be important for us going forward. I expect him to play every game, but this was just an opportunity for us to let him heal up a little bit more, especially with a break coming up now for a few days. Sometimes there's a big difference between 48 hours and 96 hours or, you know, 120 hours and so, we're trying to just buy a little bit extra time for him to try and heal."

It's clear that the Kentucky coaches and players know exactly what Lowe gives them and just how much of an impact he makes. After their win over St. John's last Saturday, where Lowe was a difference-maker when he returned in the second half, big man Jayden Quaintance talked about his impact on the team. ""I feel like Jaland brings a toughness and leadership to the game that we need. Whenever he's on the court he's telling everybody where to be, he's making sure everybody is in the right spots, making sure everybody is making the right cuts. Offensively and defensively he's a vocal leader and he's like an effort leader. You can tell he is giving everything that he has. He's been super huge for us offensively and defensively. It showed tonight."

Lowe will continue to give everything he has, even if it means continuing to play through pain while producing at a high level. He knows the impact he has on this team. We've all seen it, and heading into SEC play, he'll look to be back to full-strength, and really take advantage of this 10-day break.