John Calipari hasn't lost faith in Kentucky after latest loss to Tennessee
It isn’t March yet. Kentucky head coach John Calipari isn’t ready to give up on his team. After UK’s 103-92 loss to Tennessee on Saturday, the 64-year-old head coach weighed in on Kentucky’s recent shortcomings.
“The kids fought. I haven’t lost any faith,” Calipari said. “We don’t have D.J. [Wagner]. Teams are playing good against us and all our goals are still there. I have a good team. We are young and still make some errors. We’ve got to get healthy.”
Kentucky has lost three of its last four games. However, the Wildcats have suffered repetitive health issues throughout the spiral. In Kentucky’s loss to South Carolina on Jan. 23, the team was without sophomore forward Adou Thiero.
In UK’s 94-91 overtime loss to Florida, the ‘Cats were without DJ Wagner due to an ankle injury and Justin Edwards due to his knee. Most recently, Wagner and 7-foot-2 freshman Zvonimir Ivisic were unavailable for Kentucky’s loss against Tennessee.
DJ Wagner expected to return soon
Kentucky is yet to play a game this season with all scholarship players healthy and available. With Ivisic’s absence due to illness, he is expected to return soon. Calipari claims he likely won’t be alone.
“I’m expecting [Wagner] to play soon,” Calipari said postgame. “Sooner than later. But you know, he did the high ankle sprain and came back against Penn. He’s done okay. He’s freshman of the week four diferent times. So it’s not like he played awful but we need him healthy. It was really bothering him. We’ve done some things and I think he’s getting healthy.
“It’s like you all know, when he doesn’t play, we don’t win. You know that. We can go crazy about this and it’s that and it’s this. Let’s get our team together. We’ve still got good players.”
Kentucky is now 0-3 without Wagner on the floor, including a stunning 80-73 loss against UNC Wilmington on Dec. 2. The 6-foot-4 slasher gives Kentucky another legitimate offensive threat, capable of creating for teammates when he isn’t scoring the ball himself.
Wagner is averaging 12 points and 3.7 assists per game this season while shooting 43.5% from the field. He also averages 1.1 steals per game.
With or without Wagner, Kentucky must turn its season around to have a chance in March. The Wildcats won’t have to wait long to get back on the hardwood. On Tuesday, Kentucky will square off against Vanderbilt at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.