Carr’s issue has had him iffy to play in several games already.
Jason Marcum has covered the University of Kentucky for A Sea Of Blue since 2015 and the Cincinnati Bengals for Cincy Jungle since 2014.
College basketball doesn’t have break weeks once conference play starts, but following this weekend’s matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Kentucky Wildcats will get a mini-bye.
The Cats will have a few more days off between games because they won’t play again until the following Saturday at Vanderbilt.
Given that numerous players, including senior forward Andrew Carr, are currently battling with various knocks and bruises, Kentucky really needs it.
Carr has been dealing with a back problem for a few weeks, which is now preventing him from getting as much practice time as he would want. Fortunately, he hasn’t lost a game yet, and it doesn’t appear that he will actually miss Saturday’s date with Bama.
During his Thursday press conference to preview Cats vs. Tide, head coach Mark Pope gave an update on how the team is managing Carr’s injury, which should be aided by the extra time off next week.
“Next week, we have a full week off. We’re kind of scratching and clawing to stay alive right now,” said Pope. “Then, we’ll be able to put three days together next week where, hopefully, we can make some progress.
“Right now, he’s kind of on no practice (plan), and I just hope we can tape him together for the game. That’s kind of how we’ve been rolling the last two weeks. He’s been fighting and battling and being really effective in the games. He’s dying to play. We’ll piece it together.”
In 17 games this season (all starts), Carr is averaging 11.4 points (54.8% shooting and 29% from deep), 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. In four January games, he’s averaged 11.5 points (53.1% shooting and 27.2% from deep), 4.8 boards, and 1.8 assists per game, so his numbers haven’t really dropped off as a result of the injury.
While it’s not ideal to have a lingering back issue, whatever Kentucky and its training staff are doing is working well enough for him to play effectively in games vs. top competition. The hope is that it continues Saturday against an Alabama team that’s one of the 2-3 best teams Kentucky will host at Rupp Arena this season. then get some much-needed extra rest the following week.