Right when this Kentucky team appears to be turning the corner and building sustained momentum to move past the early lows, the Wildcats are dealt a new hurdle to clear — and they haven’t been totally graceful in the process. It started with Jayden Quaintance’s knee recovery, something Mark Pope signed up for when he took his commitment back in the spring. Then Jaland Lowe dislocated his shoulder before he ever suited up in a real game for this program.
They’ve both been in and out of the lineup from the beginning, followed by Kam Williams’ broken foot and ensuing surgery. That was a brutal development, knowing just how well he had been playing and his trajectory as a serious two-way threat on the wing.
Oh, and the losses. Those have been, well, something, going 0-4 in Quad 1 opportunities to start the year, followed by gutsy responses vs. Indiana and St. John’s — only to let go of the rope again to open SEC play with back-to-back defeats. How about five straight league wins from there for the longest streak in the conference, overcoming 12-point-plus deficits in three? Buy-in was there again, only to be sold right back in Nashville with a 25-point loss at Vanderbilt, bringing us to today…