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NASHVILLE — Kentucky basketball escaped Oklahoma 85-84 on Thursday in the SEC Tournament’s second round with starting guard Lamont Butler playing only eight minutes.
Butler reaggravated the left shoulder injury that sidelined him eight games in the regular season and was in the locker room for most of the game before reemerging to the sideline midway through the second half.
When the Wildcats tip off against Alabama in the quarterfinals Friday, they should do so without Butler in the lineup — even if he is healthy enough to play. The same goes for if the Cats reach the semifinals and beyond. However far Kentucky proceeds in Nashville, it should do so without Butler.
Shut him down.
Let him rest up.
Give him one last chance to heal up as much as one can in a week before the NCAA Tournament starts and the stakes rise considerably.
The Cats can make up for his absence offensively. They proved as much against OU with Otega Oweh and Koby Brea combining for 49 points — including Oweh's game-winner with 0.5 seconds left. The team shot 55% in the second half.
They can’t compensate for not having him on defense. It just leaves too many freshmen way too exposed.
OU guard Jeremiah Fears, who scored a game-high 28 points, struggled shooting just 1 for 7 from the floor until Butler left for good. As soon as he was replaced by Travis Perry and later Collin Chandler had to defend him, Fears made six of his next 10 attempts from the floor.
Kentucky's bench cannot save it. With Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa also out with season-ending injuries, there's clearly a drop-off whenever coach Mark Pope taps deep into the reserves. It's to the point where he might have to consider leaning on the starters to play as close to 40 minutes as possible, particularly in the backcourt.
It was ironic that Butler had just returned to the lineup in UK’s first meeting with the Sooners on Feb. 26 after he had missed three games. He’d started the last five games for the Cats, which was the most consecutive games he’d played since the end of January.
This column will be updated.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope needs to rest Lamont Butler for NCAAs
Continue reading...
Butler reaggravated the left shoulder injury that sidelined him eight games in the regular season and was in the locker room for most of the game before reemerging to the sideline midway through the second half.
When the Wildcats tip off against Alabama in the quarterfinals Friday, they should do so without Butler in the lineup — even if he is healthy enough to play. The same goes for if the Cats reach the semifinals and beyond. However far Kentucky proceeds in Nashville, it should do so without Butler.
Shut him down.
Let him rest up.
Give him one last chance to heal up as much as one can in a week before the NCAA Tournament starts and the stakes rise considerably.
The Cats can make up for his absence offensively. They proved as much against OU with Otega Oweh and Koby Brea combining for 49 points — including Oweh's game-winner with 0.5 seconds left. The team shot 55% in the second half.
They can’t compensate for not having him on defense. It just leaves too many freshmen way too exposed.
OU guard Jeremiah Fears, who scored a game-high 28 points, struggled shooting just 1 for 7 from the floor until Butler left for good. As soon as he was replaced by Travis Perry and later Collin Chandler had to defend him, Fears made six of his next 10 attempts from the floor.
Kentucky's bench cannot save it. With Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa also out with season-ending injuries, there's clearly a drop-off whenever coach Mark Pope taps deep into the reserves. It's to the point where he might have to consider leaning on the starters to play as close to 40 minutes as possible, particularly in the backcourt.
It was ironic that Butler had just returned to the lineup in UK’s first meeting with the Sooners on Feb. 26 after he had missed three games. He’d started the last five games for the Cats, which was the most consecutive games he’d played since the end of January.
This column will be updated.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope needs to rest Lamont Butler for NCAAs
Continue reading...
