Jaland Lowe's teammates were 'emotional' when he went down again -- but 'he'll be back sooner than later'

The Wildcats had just gotten Jaland Lowe back for two games after sitting on the sidelines for the entirety of the exhibition schedule and the season opener, going down with a right shoulder injury exactly four weeks ago Friday. He hadn’t even completed the full ramp-up process, still coming off the bench to open both games — Mark Pope has made that a staple for injured players making their returns before eventually putting them back in the starting lineup.

Then he reinjured that same shoulder in practice, falling to the ground in excruciating pain and calling out to the training staff for help. It was a moment that hit his Kentucky teammates to the core, knowing what this game means to the junior guard and how much it hurts to rip it right back away from him.

“I honestly am not really an emotional guy, but I really — I’m really sad, honestly,” Andrija Jelavic told KSR of the incident. “I got goosebumps when he yelled for (Brandon) Wells, our doctor. When I heard it was the same shoulder, I was really sad for him, honestly. He’s a really good human being outside of the court, very good player on the court, and I know how much this means to him. I know how much he hates this, and although he’s not showing it, I know how upset he is.”

“I mean, it was tough because no one wants to see their point guard go out like that,” Kam Williams added. “I don’t really know the significance of the injury or not, so I can’t really speak on that, but we’re just gonna pray for the best.”

There is confidence, though, this isn’t an issue that requires surgery, which could potentially end his season. Or maybe it’s just hope? Pope said “we don’t have anything yet” in terms of final test results to determine the severity, “so we’ll probably have some discussions over the next couple of days about what’s the best thing to do right now.” Those will include all parties involved “sitting down and having a real conversation about what’s the best thing to do move forward.”

Lowe’s teammates believe he’ll find his way back to the floor to help Kentucky compete for a national championship.

“Honestly, we’re upset, but we need to stay strong for him,” Jelavic said. “It’s nothing special for him to bounce back, because he’s a strong guy. We shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. He’ll be back sooner than later.”

“We need him to come back so we can get No. 9 this year,” Williams added.

Without Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen is the obvious lead guard while Jasper Johnson and Collin Chandler split backup duties. Aberdeen led that group with 13 points on 6-9 shooting with three rebounds, two steals and an assist, followed by Johnson with eight points, seven assists and five rebounds and Chandler with four points, four assists, two rebounds and a block while combining for three turnovers as a group.

Lowe is obviously a difference-maker, but there is plenty of talent elsewhere to make up for it. That’s why Pope denied the possibility of adding a mid-season addition to replace the Pittsburgh transfer, should surgery be deemed necessary and he’s forced to miss the rest of the year.

“I’m really confident in the group we have, I like the group we have a lot,” he told KSR.

How do Lowe’s teammates see the other guys stepping up in his absence, however long that lasts?

“I think we’re a team that, no matter what player is missing, it doesn’t feel like it’s missing because we really have a lot of players at each position,” Jelavic said. “If Jaland went down, Aberdeen, Chandler, Jasper, everyone steps up. It would be the same if someone else went down. Some other guys will step up, and that’s just the beauty and strength of this team.”

“With Jaland being out, we’re just gonna have to have the next guy step up and fill his shoes,” Mo Dioubate added. “We understand we can’t do anything for him to rush and come back, so in the meantime, we’re just gonna have to have the next guy step up. We’re a deep team — we’ve been saying that all year. The next guy just needs to step up.”

That three-man group may be better with the drink-stirrer on the floor in Lowe, but that doesn’t mean the other guys can’t win basketball games for Kentucky.

They’re ready to play with whoever is good to go when that ball is tipped.

“We have a deep team, so whenever one guy goes down, it’s kind of a next man up kind of thing with Jasper, Denzel and Collin,” Williams said. “They have shown they can handle the ball, they can play the one, so we’re just gonna keep moving on.”

We’ll see just how ready they are against a tough, hard-nosed program in Michigan State on Tuesday in the Champions Classic.