Kam Williams had nine points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 at the foul line against Texas but broke his foot in the second half after stepping on a Texas player's foot. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It was just what Kentucky didn’t need.
Sophomore Kam Williams had already scored nine points with 18 minutes left in Wednesday’s 85-80 win over visiting Texas when he seemed to land awkwardly on his leg jogging back on defense after making two free throws but his father, Greg Williams, said he actually stepped on a Texas player’s foot.
He limped until UK coach Mark Pope had to call a timeout because the officials did not stop the game. When Williams came out, he never stopped at the bench. He left the court and never returned. Later in the half UK announced he was out and would not return.
After the game, Pope confirmed the worst possible scenario for a team that has already lost starting point guard Jaland Lowe for the season with a shoulder injury and has center Jayden Quaintance out again with a knee problem.
Williams could have surgery as soon as Friday and recovery could range from six weeks to four months according to one source as Williams will be out indefinitely.
“Kam’s foot’s broken, so he’ll be out. He’s just a beautiful kid,” Pope said. “I thought he actually made some special plays tonight. So we’re going to get him back healthy as soon as we possibly can, but he’ll be out for a while, and that’s certainly a blow to us.”
Yes it is a blow because Williams has unlimited shooting range and after making eight 3-pointers against Bellarmine in late December, SEC teams know they have to extend the defense to guard him and that opens space inside for other UK players.
“The worst part about the game of basketball are the injuries. That’s something I think every athlete is prepared for and every team needs to prepare for,” UK sophomore guard Collin Chandler, who had 18 points, said.
“We’re all with Kam right now. It sucks, being injured, being taken away from the thing that you love to do, but we’re all with him. We’re all going to keep rallying. Injuries are nothing new to our team so far this season, so we’re just going to keep rallying and keep figuring it out.”
Junior Mo Dioubate says the team has no choice but to keep playing hard.
“It’s a sad moment for the team but we know the kind of guy Kam is and he would want us to keep playing, keep going hard, pick up the pace,” Dioubate said. “In moments like this, we can’t do anything but be there for him, enlighten him, and bring this energy around him.”
“We just have to keep going. This is another example of adversity and we’ve been through that this year so far. 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.
Pope expects the team to rally together again after the way it reacted when Williams was hurt.
“We all watch Kam walk off the floor, and that’s like a gut punch. It is just brutal. You know, J. Lowe’s out, JQ is out, Kam is limping off the floor, and so that was a moment where connectivity came in because our guys were just like, ‘Okay, listen, the only thing we can do for Kam right now is go play, and then we can cry with Kam in the locker room after, but like, the only thing we do right now is play,’ and that brings guys together.” Pope said.
3 Responses
This one hurts but it also gives other players a chance to step up and show there worth when we need them the most. Oweh has 883 points so far in 2 years. He will end up making a elite list of Kentucky players who played here two years and made the 1,000 point club. He is one of 9 players all time who it took only two years to make the club and let me just tell you all of them have been drafted in the NBA draft. The last player who did this was Antonio Reeves. Before him Oscar Tschebwe. Doron Lamb is also on this list but he only played 2 years of college basketball. There is a couple of more players from the 50s and 60s who accomplished this feat. Like I said everyone who did this ended up playing professional basketball so he definitely can make a NBA team. He needs to continue on this scoring tear and more importantly we need to win. If he leads the team and we make a final 4 run I can see him being drafted. If he has a bunch of bad games and we only win a game or two in the tournament I can see him being just outside the second round. He can play his way up in the draft the more we win the higher his stock goes. He needs to average 16+ ppg with 4rpg 3apg 2spg and he will get drafted early in the second round. Aberdeen can also be drafted if he can keep playing at a high level the rest of the year.
It's time for Trent Noah to step up and show that he can and will play at this level. If there isn't much fall off with Kam out then Trent is doing his job. He needs to hit his open shots if he gets them and play hard on defense. Teams are going to go at him when he's in the game and he needs to be ready to play lock down defense. If he can shoot over 40% from 3 and improve on his defense he can have a real role on the team next year. Possibly a 6th or 7th man role. He has a chance now with Williams out to show everyone he can play here. We will see very soon what Trent Noah is made of and I hope he succeeds. I think he will. I think in one of the next couple games he's going to explode and go like 4-4 from 3 or 5-5. He needs a game like that to show everyone that he's here to play basketball not watch from the bench. Like I said he should get his opportunity now with Williams out. We will see what the Harlan county boy is made of.
So G league guys can come in now ?
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