Checking in on Kentucky's would-be starting point guards

Jaland Lowe is out. Again. Mark Pope said it is a “day-to-day process” with his shoulder, and while the optimistic take on this quote is that he literally means Lowe is day-to-day, my admittedly more pessimistic interpretation is that the process of deciding between season-ending surgery or multi-week rehab changes day-to-day. But who knows? The Kentucky staff hasn’t exactly been a ball of transparency when it comes to injuries, so fans are obtaining information in a, dare I say, day-to-day process.

Pope built a roster with two of everything to protect against injuries, having been burned from last year’s horrid luck in the ailment department, but he may have fudged a little bit with the point guard spot. Denzel Aberdeen is a national champion and has shown to be a great contributor thus far, but even the most ardent Zel stans would not call him a true point guard.

Meanwhile, Collin Chandler is infinitely better playing off the ball, as is Jasper Johnson, though the latter is serving as the backup point guard for the time being.

With all the uncertainty surrounding the position, it is hard not to go down the what-if road. The transfer portal is a maze in which everyone, including players, stumbles around lost every season. Guys leave. Coaches miss. It’s chaos. So, is there anyone who was almost on this Kentucky roster that would have helped right now with Lowe out indefinitely? How are they doing now?

Acaden Lewis is averaging double figures for Villanova

The most obvious what-if candidate is freshman Acaden Lewis. He was committed to Kentucky up until the ‘Cats brought in Jaland Lowe. Reportedly, Lewis and his camp would have been comfortable playing behind someone like Donovan Dent, who ultimately transferred to UCLA for his senior year. However, considering Lowe had two years of eligibility remaining instead of Dent’s one, Lewis chose to go to a school where more immediate playing time was available.

Seemingly, that plan has worked. He is the starting point guard for Villanova (alongside college basketball’s Van Wilder, Devin Askew). Lewis is averaging 12.2 points per game with outings of 21 points and 19 points through just five games. Nova’s competition hasn’t exactly matched Kentucky’s schedule, but they did play BYU in the season opener (Lewis only had five points in that matchup). Still, Kentucky could use 12 points per game from a true point guard right now.

The one area where Lewis would not have helped is shooting. The lefty has made just two out of 16 of his 3-point attempts thus far for a dismal 12.5 percent. Only Mo Dioubate is shooting worse than that from behind the arc for the ‘Cats this season.

Donovan Dent has been good, not great for the Bruins

Donovan Dent was one of the top prizes in the transfer portal this season, after posting 20.4 points per game last season with New Mexico. It looked like Kentucky was going to be his destination, but a last-minute decision to pick UCLA over Kentucky sent Mark Pope looking elsewhere.

Dent is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 assists for the Bruins this season, but similar to Acaden Lewis, has struggled shooting from deep. He is just one of 1 of 9 from behind the arc, but to be fair, he has never touted himself as being an outside threat. Instead, he gets his buckets in the lane.

Without a plethora of players that can beat their man off the dribble on Kentucky’s roster this season, it would have been interesting to see how Dent would have fit, had he come to Lexington instead of the now-injured Lowe.

Travis Perry is struggling down in Oxford

Mark Pope called Travis Perry’s transfer to Ole Miss devastating, but basketball statisticians might tend to disagree. Perry, who was a prototypical doesn’t-miss-in-practice player last year at Kentucky, has made just five out of his 24 attempts from 3 this season, a paltry 20.4 percent. That is rough for a supposed 3-point specialist. Perry has only shot five two-point attempts through Old Mississippi’s first five games. He has made one of them.

It is possible that Perry would be getting serious minutes at point guard for Kentucky right now with Lowe out, a similar position he was thrust into last season when Lamont Butler missed extended time. Perry had his moments, but it was clear there was a fairly low ceiling with Perry as the team’s primary ball handler.

Lamar Wilkerson might not be a point guard, but has been filling it up for Indiana

I’m not sure how you can get the royal all-day treatment at Keeneland and still spurn Lexington, but that is what happened with Lamar Wilkerson. He is more of a shooting guard than a point guard, so I’m not sure he would be serving as the Cats’ primary ball handler with Lowe out, but he would certainly be playing quality minutes. Regardless, the ‘Cats could really use his shooting.

The Sam Houston State transfer is knocking down 44.4 percent of his 3s for Indiana thus far this season while hoisting up over seven per game. With all of the struggles Kentucky has had shooting the ball, WIlkerson is exactly the kind of player that would have given Kentucky exponentially more firepower, keeping driving lanes open for the likes of Otega Oweh.

Ultimately, what-ifs are fruitless mind games. To use a cliché sports term, Kentucky’s situation is what it is, and for the second straight season, the Wildcats’ point guard has a debilitating shoulder injury. All we can do is wait patiently, day-to-day, for what the final decision will be for the true point guard Kentucky does have on its roster, Jaland Lowe.