John Calipari reveals how he handles injuries with his players

Handling injuries can be a difficult issue for any college basketball coach around the country to discuss. On Friday afternoon, Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari fielded a few questions on the status of his star guards, Tyty Washington and Sahvir Wheeler.

First, when he was asked about the status of Wheeler and Washington, he responded, “I don’t know. I have not seen them today.” Then, a reporter asked the head coach about his process and how exactly he handles injuries whenever a player is hurt.

“If they don’t play, they don’t play…They may call me the night before — and won’t call me — they text me and say we’re gonna see in the morning if he’s available. Right now, I have not met with our trainer. I have not seen either kid. I’ll know before we start that we’re gonna go practice and we’ll practice. And if they don’t practice, we’ll practice and get ready for the game.”

Calipari then went a bit more in-depth about how he handles injuries.

“When it’s day-to-day I’m not gonna force a kid to play. Now there may be a point where I say, ‘You know what I’m not gonna let you play today. You need more rest. Let’s go.’ But…it’s a combination of all that stuff,” the Kentucky head coach said.

Calipari doesn’t seem too worried about the status of Tyty Washington and Sahvir Wheeler. Maybe that’s because his team has been winning games without them. The duo has missed the last two games because of injuries. Both players are still day-to-day as the No. 6 Wildcats prepare for their final three games of the regular season, beginning with the No. 16 Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday.

Playing without Washington and Wheeler, Kentucky defeated both LSU and Alabama. Calipari’s squad rallied back from double figures in both games. The Wildcats are currently just one game behind the Auburn Tigers for first place in the SEC standings with three games remaining in the regular season.

While the Wildcats’ roster is absolutely loaded, there’s no question Calipari will need his star guards to be healthy for a deep run in March. Big man Oscar Tshiebwe has put up historically dominant numbers this season. It’d be a surprise if he didn’t win National Player of the Year. Earlier in the season, Calipari mentioned some mental tricks that the gifted big man uses to fool his coaches.

There’s no question the Kentucky Wildcats are going to be a national title contender to watch in March.