Pope Offers More Positive Updates on Kam Williams

Kam Williams (Vicky Graff Photo)

Could Kam Williams really be available to Kentucky for postseason play after breaking his foot Jan. 21 and not playing in a game since then?

Kentucky coach Mark Pope said on his radio show Wednesday night that the Tulane transfer was “doing a little bit of running” on Tuesday.

“Had a solid skill workout today, having minimal pain. Hasn’t done anything full speed, but he’s making progress,” Pope said on his weekly radio show.

During his weekly press conference Thursday, Pope said Williams would be practicing with the team Thursday.

“We’re gonna see if we can slip him into a little bit of practice today. I don’t know if he’ll get any contact today, but we’re pushing it with him,” Pope said. “He’s also been working incredibly hard. He’s made good progress. So we’ll see.

“The question is, once he gets into any type of full-speed stuff, how does it respond? That’s going to be the question we’ll be asking over the next days.”

Pope said Williams has had a “positive impact” on the team already this season to show what he can do if healthy.

“He hasn’t been able to play for quite a while now, but he also has a game where — he’s had a positive impact on the game, even when he’s not maybe fine-tuned offensively, just with his length and his mobility and his physicality,” Pope said. “He’s had a positive impact on us on the defensive end.

“He’s getting close. We had a really good workout yesterday, a non-contact workout, so we’ll see where that goes. I love the fact that he’s dying to play right now. He’s dying to play. He’s doing everything he can to get in.”

Sophomore center Jayden Quaintance has not played since Jan. 7 after there was swelling in his knee after he played in four games less than a year after his ACL injury at Arizona State.

“JQ is also making some progress, we feel we’ve got the swelling a little bit under control. He actually did strength testing today,” Pope said. “He’s got a much more intensive ramp-up before he can step on the floor.”

Pope admitted that it will not only depend on how Williams and Quaintance feel but also where UK is when decisions are made about playing.

“It’s kind of a race to the finish line here, a lot of it will depend on how Saturday feels and how the SEC Tournament goes, but there’s certainly space — especially when you’re playing back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back, however many back-to-backs it would end up being. There’s definitely space,” Pope said about needing one or both players if they are cleared to play.