Greg Williams appreciates the support and prayers BBN has given his son, Kam, to "keep his spirits up" since his injury. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky guard Kerr Kriisa injured his foot Dec. 7, 2024, and had surgery Dec. 11 on his broken right foot to repair what was diagnosed as a Jones fracture. He did not play in another game last season.
Kentucky sophomore wing Kam Williams injured his foot in last week’s win over Texas. He had surgery Friday and his father, Greg, confirmed on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk that it also was a Jones fracture.
“It’s basically like a stress fracture. Kam came here (from Tulane) weighing 190 and now he’s almost 210, so he’s been running on an extra 20 pounds causing a little stress on his feet,” Greg Williams said. “We think that is what led to the Jones fracture. He had a procedure on Friday, went home and right now we are in that mode where you have to make sure you avoid any blood clots and things of that nature.”
The 6-foot-8 Tulane transfer was averaging 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game when he was injured and seemed to be getting more comfortable in his role every game.
“Getting through that initial pain with medication, he can’t travel, can’t do anything but play the PlayStation. He’s watching the games,” Greg Williams said.
When Kam Williams came out of his surgery, he was on the phone with his dad, mother and brother who is playing professionally in Israel. Then he asked if he could call his teammates.
“He’s going through a very serious situation, but he’s thinking about his teammates,” Greg Williams said.
The UK player had a screw put in his fifth metatarsal bone — the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects the little toe — to stabilize it. The Jones fracture occurs in a small area of the bone that receives less blood and is more prone to difficulties in healing. A Jones fracture normally is caused by overuse, repetitive stress or trauma.
“We don’t know what time frame we’re looking at (for playing again) because it all depends on healing,” Greg Williams said.
Kam Williams’ injury occurred almost six weeks later in the season than Kriisa’s injury did.
“He’s gonna fight to do everything he can to come back, and that just depends on his body and the doctors. They never let players dictate because if that’s the case, He will be probable for US Tuesday (at Vanderbilt),” Greg Williams said.
Greg Williams said the risk of reinsuring the foot if he comes back after being cleared is “small but still a risk” to consider.
“He has to be able to come back and play without reservation. If he has to play with reservation, then that doesn’t really help him to play because you’re gonna play scared,” the UK player’s father said. “You can’t play wanting to avoid injury. You have to play trying to gain a victory.
“Right now we are just going through the process, making sure that he’s eating right, he’s sleeping, he’s keeping his foot elevated, and if he does everything he’s supposed to do, the doctor said you’re looking at six to eight weeks (of recovery time). We have to follow that guideline.”
If he can play, Williams will want to play just like point guard Jaland Lowe did before he had to finally have shoulder surgery. Greg Williams is not worried about his son playing if he’s not ready because he trusts UK coach Mark Pope.
“I want people to know this. I got a call from coach Pope and he said, ‘We would like him to play, but he has more ahead of him than he has behind him.’’ He’s really concerned about Kam the person right now with his injury,” Greg Williams said. “If it’s possible for him to come back, then he’s gonna start thinking about Kam the player. It’s all about what’s best for him, because if he’s not healthy, he can’t help the team.
“If he’s not healthy and he hurts himself again, he hurts his future. Coach Pope and his staff are dialed into Kam as the person first and told him you didn’t let us down by getting hurt. It just happened. Coach Pope isn’t going to let him put his health in front of anything. I really appreciate that. But he hasn’t packed it in yet.”
5 Responses
Have we been snake bit or what 🥴🤬 ?? Don’t think we’ve played with every player available the last two years.
Kam’s health is priority one, I’m smiling right now thinking about how great Kam is going to be next year. His smile is infectious, and evidentially so is his game. Since Kam has been showing out the team looks completely different. Teams aren’t so eager to double us up since they have to respect Kams range. Don’t fret BBN, Jelivic has got his back✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️
Kam Williams, last January first I broke 3 bones in my foot and one in my ankle. The doctor recommended surgery and said I wouldn't walk for 6 months. By February I was walking around in a boot. By March around my birthday I took the boot off and was walking without a boot 2 and half months later. I went back to work in April and by May I was jogging around my neighborhood. Granted they said I wouldn't be able to walk for 6-12 months by 5 months I was jogging. Now a year later I'm still at about 90% but I thank God everyday that I can walk. Alot of people take it for granted but you will know when your ready nobody can tell you when your ready. He should be ready to roll by next season. He has better doctors and rehab than what I had which was nothing. He's also 20 years old and I'm 42. So he will heal faster than what I did. In other words he will have 2 years of eligibility left. Next year he will get even more opportunities with Oweh and Aberdeen gone I think Kam Williams and Collin Chandler will be the two leading scorers on the team along with JJ and Moreno. We have a chance to be even better next year if everyone comes back. We should start Aberdeen/Chandler/Oweh/Jelly/Moreno with JJ subbing in for Aberdeen or Chandler Noah subbing in for Oweh, Mo subbing in for Oweh or Jelly and Garrison subbing in for Moreno. If Garrison would be a little more aggressive and JJ and Noah can pop some 3s we will be ok. Kams 20 minutes per game can be spread out and give Noah 5-10 mins. Give Jasper a extra 5-6 mins and Mo a extra 5 mins or so. It's going to take a team effort to win. We are 9 deep. We can't afford to lose anyone else. I don't think JQ will be playing anymore this year. Knee swelling gets him out of a game or 2 but knee swelling for 3 straight weeks? Impossible unless he's going crazy everyday at practice. Pope said he would burn Hawthornes redshirt but if he's injured too it would be pointless this late in the season if he's injured. I've heard he should be ready in a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks put us a midway through February heck at that point the season only has a month left maybe. The 2025 recruiting class was considered the best recruiting class in the last 20 years. If it was that strong then a top 40 recruit in the best recruiting class who reclassified and still was a top 40 recruit could definitely help the team. Since Hawthorne reclassified and was still ranked top 40 in the best class ever, I've heard if he would have stayed in the 2026 class he would have been a top 10-15 recruit. Look around the NCAA there has never been a freshman class dominate like the 2025 class has dominated. Which means Hawthorne is probably good enough to help us now. I'm not saying he would average 15/7 but I think he could definitely be a 7-8 ppg 3-4 rpg 2-3apg 1-2spg 1-2bpg type of guy as a true freshman. Next year as a redshirt freshman I can see him average 9-10 ppg 3-4 rpg 2-3 apg 1-2spg 1-2bpg now sitting for a year getting a little stronger and he should be 100% ready next year. I do believe he could help this team if he wasmt hurt but being hurt there is no reason to burn the redshirt unless someone else gets hurt. If someone else goes down with a injury we might need to burn the redshirt.
This is Otega Oweh’s Senior season, isn’t it?
If UK wins tonite we have a chance on Saturday. If we lose, you have to have to go with the Hogs because Calipari has shown some magic since he has left than we saw last few years with him.
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