Mark Pope, Kentucky teammates confident Trent Noah can step up in Kam Williams' absence: 'He's going to be really great.'

One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity, right? It doesn’t take away from the devastation and heartbreak that is Kam Williams‘ injury — a broken foot, set to take him off the floor indefinitely. Kentucky is better with the sophomore wing on the floor and his absence hurts the team’s chances to win basketball games. Those are very real truths coming out of the Wildcats’ victory over Texas for a fourth straight as a team in SEC play.

Another real truth? Games still have to be played and Mark Pope has to find someone else to step up in Williams’ place, however long he’s out. And while other schools seem to be adding replacements out of thin air to fix their issues — even if that means bending the rules and testing the NCAA’s power in this new era of the sport — that’s an unlikely path for Kentucky.

Pope said as much after beating the Longhorns, saying, “At some point, it is important that we take a stand and regain some tiny ounce of sanity” to push back on the influx of multi-year pros returning to college.

So who will Pope lean on with Williams starting the recovery process? Harlan County’s own.

He brought up Trent Noah‘s impact before he even shared the sobering update on Williams, transitioning straight from the former to the latter.

“It was really important to have guys step up. It’s really hard. I mean, you think about Trent — he’s had such a limited run in the last five or six games, and he comes in and comes up with arguably the second-most important rebound of the game.”

Noah only played three minutes, but pulled down two rebounds to go with a couple of fouls and a turnover. It’s been a rough stretch for him, scoring a combined two points dating back to the Indiana win on December 13 — he had four in that one alone. Before then, he had two games of double-figure scoring — including a 16-point, six-rebound effort vs. Tennessee Tech. He started three games this season for the Wildcats, for crying out loud!

Point being, it’s been all over the place for the sophomore forward this season as he’s looked for ways to make an impact in the rotation. That’s going to change moving forward.

“Well, he just played a couple of minutes last game (at Tennessee), a couple of minutes this game. He hasn’t played much before then,” Pope said. “He’s going to have to play now. And he can, he’s a good player. He actually is going to help us win. He’s a really — he started games for us! He’s a really good player. He’s going to get more minutes and he’s going to be really great. He’s going to help us.”

The 6-5, 220-pound sophomore’s teammates believe in him, too. They see the work he’s put in behind the scenes and the type of shot-maker he is when he’s playing with confidence.

Now he has no choice but to prove it in games with Williams off the floor.

“One thing about T.N., Trent, he has always been consistent for us in practice,” Mo Dioubate said. “He’s been one of our most consistent guys in practice, making shots and just playing his game. I think this will be a great opportunity for him to step up. He’s been asking for this all year.

“The moment’s right here for him and I think he’s locked in on that. Good things are coming.”

Noah wants it — like most in his shoes, waiting for their number to be called and prove themselves. The Wildcats, however, need it. Now isn’t the time for a feel-good local story like it’s a mid-major opponent in November.

Kentucky leaned on Williams to be a shot-maker and tough defender up to this point. Now it’s on Noah to do both of those things at a high level.

“He’s going to have to really step up — next man up mentality,” Otega Oweh added. “He practices every single day and gives his intensity every single day, so he’ll be used to coming in and doing what he does. He’s got to be ready, obviously, for some big minutes now that Kam is out. He’s just got to have that next man up mentality.”