Jaland Lowe drove against Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno in the Blue-White Game. (Vicky Graff Photo)
The really good news for Kentucky basketball fans is that point guard Jaland Lowe likely will play tonight when the Cats host Valparaiso in their second game of the season.
The bad news is that sophomore guard Trent Noah probably will not after injuring his ankle in Tuesday’s win even though he wants to play.
Lowe, a Pittsburgh transfer, has not played since injuring his right shoulder in UK’s Blue-White Game.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope said Thursday that he expected Lowe, a preseason all-SEC pick, to practice Thursday and then play in tonight’s game — the last game for the Cats before they play at Louisville on Tuesday.
“He’ll have a full practice today. He’s been really good the last couple of days, and so I hope so,” Pope said when asked about Lowe’s availability for tonight’s game.
Kentucky needs Lowe back as the offense has been out of sync. Pope recruited Lowe to be his primary playmaker and while Denzel Aberdeen had six assists and no turnovers against Nicholls, he is not the point guard Pope wants leading UK the majority of the season.
Aberdeen has clearly emerged as the backup point guard with freshman Jasper Johnson likely No. 3 on the depth chart now.
Noah started both exhibition games and the season opener against Nicholls but injured his ankle in the first half. He did not play in the second half even though Pope said he insisted he could play.
“I expect he’s gonna be back soon,” Pope said Thursday. “I don’t think we’ll practice him today. I don’t know if he’ll be available tomorrow — I’m guessing maybe it’s probably a toss-up whether he will be or not, I’m probably leaning toward saving him and just trying to get him healthy.”
It’s easy to understand Pope’s cautious approach with injuries in early November after the way injuries hindered his first Kentucky team.
“The one complicated thing about training is you love players like this,” Pope said about Noah. “I love having guys like this. I would kill to have a roster full of guys like this. He’s never going to tell you that he’s in pain, ever, ever, ever. I’ll probably err a little bit on the side of caution.”
