On Monday night, Mark Pope broke the news that Kentucky point guard Jaland Lowe would be done for the season, as he’s opted to have surgery on his shoulder. That the news might not come as a shock to many, but it does impact this team substantially this season.
Despite that fact, it was fairly obvious the pain that Lowe was facing while on the court, and he still ran out of that tunnel and powered through for this team. That is the type of guy you want helping run your squad every single season.
With
Lowe out, Jack Pilgrim of KSR spoke with his dad, Marland Lowe, about this whole process. His dad gave some insight into the decision that went into finally getting the surgery.
“The doctors talked and said, ‘Look, man, it’s just going to probably happen again and he’s got at least, at minimum, maybe three weeks to rehab. You just never know what’s going to happen.’ With that being said, they recommended, like, ‘Listen, man, we probably need to shut him down,’” Lowe told Pilgrim. “It was tough for him, but we understood what it was. He understood what the possibilities were all the time and he was willing to sacrifice that because he wanted to play and wanted to be out there with his teammates and play for Kentucky.”
It’s a brutal development for both Kentucky and Lowe. The Wildcats have been plagued with injuries seemingly every year now, while Lowe battled through a broken finger during his sophomore season at Pitt before making his way to Lexington.
Now that Lowe’s season is over, is he planning to come back to Kentucky next season?
For now, the plan is to be back so long as the coaching staff wants Lowe back.
“If they will have him back, if they want him back, you know? I’m pretty sure that’s what the plan would be,” Lowe said. “That’s what he wanted, to play there. And he looks forward to it. It’s just, I think, the nature of the beast now would basically fall on the University of Kentucky and how they would view him going forward if they want him back or not. That would be our plan, but if not, I know that there are plenty of (schools) that would want him [laughs].”
Will be a lot to watch this offseason, but now it is time to wish Lowe and his recovery the best! Here’s to hoping we get to see him play a full season when next year rolls around.
Be sure to read Pilgrim’s full report for more insight into Lowe’s injury and time with the Wildcats.
