John Calipari provides update on Aaron Bradshaw’s injury, impact

It wouldn’t be a Kentucky basketball offseason without a mysterious injury plaguing one of the top players on the roster. After Oscar Tshiebwe’s minor knee injury caused issues into the regular season last fall, this year, it’s five-star freshman big man Aaron Bradshaw who is already sidelined and needed a foot surgery that will wipe out his preseason practice time and possibly keep him off the floor for a few regular season games.

There’s no other way to put it: it’s terrible news for a Kentucky team that’s already thin in the front-court, and the air of unknown around the whole issue is worrisome, since UK has been bitten by lingering injuries to one of their players seemingly every season the last five years.

Bradshaw is only the latest in what’s becoming a frustrating trend.

At his first press conference since March, John Calipari revealed that Bradshaw decided to have a surgery on his foot to completely clear out the issue rather than play on it and risk not being 100% or further hurt it. He also used the injury update as an opportunity to praise the kind of person Bradshaw has been since arriving on campus, emphasizing how well he’s worked with little kids.

So take a took at what Calipari had to say on Bradshaw right here or read his comments on the rookie big man below:

John Calipari updates Aaron Bradshaw injury situation

“Aaron Bradshaw was unbelievable in the camps in our community. The kids loved them, the parents and loved them. You know, and again, we’ve done them in Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, we traveled for both the floods and the the tornadoes. This year, we went back to the camps around the the state and thousands showed up.

“And let me say this, (Aaron) was one of these stars. Had a foot injury, had a choice to make: do you let it heal or do you do an operation? He waited for a minute to say, ‘let me see this.’ But at the end of the day, he said, ‘I want an operation because I want to play.’ So he’ll be back on campus this weekend being in a boot.

“I had told him and the team a while ago he would not be going to Toronto. Then he said it publicly but he will not be with us in Toronto. Obviously, he’ll be getting healthy. But you know, I look at him, and for him, he made that decision. He could have waited it out and saw that it could work and he could be fine, but he said, ‘I don’t want to take a chance. I want to play alright.'”

Calipari was then asked how much of a setback he thought the Bradshaw injury would be for him going forward. Cal’s answer:

“Yes, especially for a young guy who is obviously still developing at a position — that’s a tough transition to make to this level. It’s unfortunate for him but we’ve had guys that couldn’t be there in the summer and came back and played great. And all I can tell you is every time he grabs me, he says, ‘I love you coach.’ Like, this kid is so excited about being here and wants to help us win.

“These guys know, even in practice, every practice, the drills — you win or you lose. Everything we do is with score, you win or you lose. You’re teaching them winning matters. With him, winning matters. I want to come here and I want us to win. There all these young guys are the same and the guys that are returning are the same. But for him, it would have been better if he played, but he’ll be fine. But we will not rush him back.”