Wildcats react to Kam Williams' injury: 'He's a soldier, he's gonna get right.'

It could’ve been easy for the Kentucky Wildcats to use Kam Williams‘ second-half injury — later announced as a broken foot — as an excuse to fall flat down the stretch against Texas. They had already lost Jaland Lowe for the season with Jayden Quaintance still getting his knee figured out, so adding another to the list is nothing short of devastating.

Instead, they came together to earn the 85-80 victory to make it four straight in the SEC, then worried about what was next after the final horn.

“We all watched Kam walk off the floor — that’s a gut punch, it’s just brutal. J-Lowe is out, JQ is out, Kam’s limping off the floor,” Mark Pope said at the podium, shortly after declaring Williams out indefinitely. “That was a moment where connectivity came in because our guys are just like, ‘OK, listen — the only thing we can do for Kam right now is go play.

“Then we can go cry with Kam in the locker room after. The only thing we can do right now is play.'”

Otega Oweh said Williams was there waiting for his teammates, ready to celebrate the win rather than bring the mood down — “so we were all just making sure we gave him some encouragement.”

Mo Dioubate added that he was in good spirits, all things considered.

“He wasn’t as down, you know what I’m saying? He didn’t make it seem (as bad), so it was better for the vibe of the locker room.”

That doesn’t make the long-term impact of Williams’ absence hurt any less, though. He’s a good player who has turned the corner as a legitimate impact player on both ends, but beyond that, he’s a teammate and friend who has had the game taken away from him for the foreseeable future.

Needless to say, the Wildcats are crushed for him.

“We feel for him, it’s super unfortunate that he went down,” Oweh said. “We just have to fight for him and have the next-man-up mentality. I know that he would want us to go out there and still perform, so we gotta still do that.”

“The worst part of the game of basketball is the injuries part of it,” Collin Chandler added. “That’s something every athlete is prepared for and every team needs to prepare for. We’re all with Kam right now. It sucks, being injured, being taken away from the thing you love to do. We’re all with him, we’re all gonna keep rallying.

“Injuries are nothing new to our team this season, so we’re gonna keep rallying and keep figuring it out.”

For Dioubate, in particular, the news is hitting him harder, knowing just how close he is to Williams. They quickly formed a tight relationship as first-year Wildcats, playing video games together and talking “about a lot of things off the court — it’s been like that for months now.”

He’s confident the Tulane transfer will bounce back as quickly as possible, but that doesn’t make this development any easier.

“It was a sad moment — especially me, because I’m really close with Kam,” he said. “… We know that Kam is going to get right. He’s a soldier, he’s gonna get right. He’s with us, we’re with him.”

To this team’s credit, the Wildcats have overcome quite a bit as is. From the losses and ensuing criticism to the injuries, they’ve had no choice but to come together as a unit rather than letting the wheels fall off physically, mentally and emotionally.

They’re heartbroken tonight, but they know Williams’ injury will only make the locker room stronger — just as everything else has up to this point.

“I feel like we’ve gotten even closer. We were already a close-knit group, but that’s the thing with basketball — it’s going to force you to lean into each other through the ups and downs,” Oweh said. “It just brings you closer. I feel like canceling out and blocking out the outside noise, that’s been a really good thing for all of us. It’s allowed us to lean into each other.

Next man down, next man up for the Cats. Someone has to be willing to step in and pick up where the 6-8 sophomore left off.

One of Williams’ closest friends believes in this team to do just that, individually and as a whole.

“We just have to keep going. This is another example of adversity and we’ve been through that this year so far,” Dioubate said. “We just have to have other guys step up. There have been other guys playing so they will have to step up and keep doing what they are doing. I think we’re going to be fine.”