Jaland Lowe's status is uncertain for Kentucky's game against Bellarmine

Kentucky has welcomed back Jaland Lowe with open arms after he missed six games to start the season with a shoulder injury that has continued to re-aggravate him. But, he is playing through it, and it speaks to the toughness and heart he has that he'll give it his all to be out there with his teammates. He is an absolute difference-maker for this Kentucky team, so much so that they look like a completely different team, especially offensively, whenever he's on the floor versus when he's not.

After knocking off the rust against Gonzaga and Indiana, Lowe looks to be back to playing his normal amount of minutes. But, heading into Tuesday's game against the in-state Bellarmine Knights, it sounds like Kentucky doesn't want to risk Lowe continuing to be aggravated by his shoulder, especially in a game against a lesser quality opponent, where they hopefully won't need him at all. Mark Pope was asked about his status for Tuesday's game in Rupp Arena.

"He's pretty sore today. We'll see how it is tomorrow. You know, we'll continue to proceed with caution with these guys. But, he's bounced back really fast." Lowe is an absolute difference-maker for this team, and when they see his attitude, him continuing to play through the shoulder injury, the players feed off of that energy. Jayden Quaintance talked after Saturday's game just how his teammate changes things when he's on the floor, which was especially the case when he returned from his 19-minute absence in the game.

"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."

Speaking of Quaintance, Pope expects to play him in Tuesday's game, and may even stretch out his minutes depending on how he feels leading up to the game. "I'd like to stretch those minutes out a little bit, like to push him a little bit farther. He recovered pretty well from the game. This is a recovery process. So today, he was good in practice. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. But if we can, and if he can earn them, I'd like to stretch his minutes a little bit. It's a complicated guard for him tomorrow. It's going to really, really test him, but we'd like to stretch him out and continue to stretch him next week through a full week's practice to where we can be on a no minute restriction, hopefully here soon."

They would miss him if he doesn't play on Tuesday, but there is no need at all to force him out on the court.