John Calipari updates health of Cason Wallace, reveals lingering issue

Kentucky (10-6) lost a tough one at home to South Carolina (8-8) and perhaps more than the game, the Wildcats lost guard Cason Wallace after just eight minutes.

Wallace exited the game due to a back injury and head coach John Calipari updated his player’s health postgame and even said it was a lingering issue. Wallace put up four points in his limited action against the Gamecocks.

“He said he had back spasms,” Calipari said. “I just saw when I saw him in the locker room and said what was up? He said back spasms. He’s had the issue at times.”

In 16 games this season, Wallace averaged 11.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, shot 47% from the floor and 41.9% from three point range. His timetable for return is unknown.

As a member of the Class of 2022, Wallace was a five-star prospect out of Richardson (Texas) High, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 1 combo guard in the class and the No. 8 overall prospect in the class.

On the floor, Kentucky put itself in a 42-32 hole after the first half. Despite a comeback attempt, the Wildcats fell short.

“We lost the game in the first half,” Calipari said postgame. “The second half, we held them to 29. We do some good things offensively, we look better. But you know, in the end, a loose ball we don’t get. We do a great job of guarding and a guy who runs in and gets a tip. We block them out. Those are winning plays. Those are the difference between winning and losing and making some free throws.” 

It was the second straight loss for Kentucky after a two game winning streak featuring wins over Louisville and LSU.

“This is a long season,” Calipari said. “It’s a marathon. Am I happy? No. I’m not happy. I hate losing. You know, we were undermanned, but it doesn’t matter. You are still playing to win. And the first half of just like, you know, come on. And look, this team, I gotta be a little bit everything with this team. First of all, I gotta build them up. But I still gotta hold them accountable. And you’re looking at guys, like going nuts on people right now is not the answer. That’s just not the answer. 

“Now, can I be tougher on them in practice and all that? Yeah, I can. Again, there were things today that I look at and I just say you know, we’re better than that. And now for me, it’s a marathon. I still think this team could be good. Gotta have a full roster and then we gotta go. I thought offensively, we did some good stuff today. But defensively, you know, six turnovers in a game and you lose the game? Never heard that before but again, you know, they out rebounded us.”