Kentucky players have all now have COVID booster shots, something coach John Calipari hopes will help UK avoid missing games this season. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky has not lost a game this basketball season due to COVID but it has had to find different opponents for its last two games. The Cats played North Carolina in Las Vegas Saturday instead of Ohio State and tonight will host Western Kentucky instead of Louisville.
“I’m worried, just like I was last year, of mitigating and having every opportunity for our team to play basketball games,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari Tuesday. “I have enough friends that, if we have games canceled, that we can fill them in with other games and against good opponents.”
Calipari expects to have to scramble more to find replacement games this season, even during Southeastern Conference play, and that might mean even agreeing to a home-and-home series, something UK has not been doing with non-conference opponents. He also thinks teams have to be willing to play even if they are down to eight eligible players.
“This is not going to be perfect. I like the fact that we’ve had our vaccines, 100 percent. We’ve had the booster (shot). And what it means to me is that if someone gets it, it’s not going to (make them real sick),” Calipari said.
“I’ve got people’s children under my care, and that’s my first thing that I worry about. I did it last year. Last year was about as much mental health to make sure that you know we didn’t have any issues there either.”
Calipari announced Tuesday that UK would return to Zoom press conferences for at least a few weeks like the team did last year rather than in-person press conferences like UK has had so far this year. Players will be allowed to go home after tonight’s game, one reason Calipari is glad each player has had a COVID booster shot.
“Just knowing that it’s about being a great teammate. There were many of them that didn’t want to do it, but they did it for each other and they did it for their families at home. So, we’re just going to try and mitigate,” Calipari said.
Sophomore Lance Ware said players want to play and taking the booster shot to help enhance that possibility was an easy choice.
“We don’t want COVID or the new variants to be able to stop us from playing,” Ware said Tuesday. “Everybody wants to play. Nobody wants to have games canceled.
“Nobody wants a repeat of the last two years. And I feel if this is what we have to do — get a booster shot.”
Ware said players could even accept more rigid protocols like they had to endure last season when they were basically confined to their rooms — often by themselves — when they were not in the gym. That has not happened yet this year.
“If we need to be in our rooms to be able to play games as a safety precaution, that’s what we’ll do,” Ware said.
