Lamont Butler says his shoulder was operating at '80 percent' health to end season

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Lamont Butler - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Lamont Butler‘s shoulder injury hasn’t been a secret. It first became an issue during the win over Texas A&M all the way back on Jan. 14. Roughly 2.5 months later, the fifth-year point guard was still feeling the effects of his beat-up shoulder, even during Kentucky’s season-ending loss to Tennessee on Friday.

“My shoulder was hurting, really, really bad,” Butler told reporters postgame. “I think I was able to get it about like 80 percent towards the end of the season. Right now I’d say it’s around 80 percent. I was just out there trying to win, at that point I wasn’t even thinking about the shoulder, I was just trying to go out there and play.”

Taking that into account, it makes Butler’s production all that more impressive. With Kentucky’s season on the line, he posted 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 33 minutes on 7-10 shooting. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to power the ‘Cats to victory. He was seen crying with head coach Mark Pope in the tunnel after UK came up short against the Volunteers.

“I was crying earlier,” Butler, who was one of many injured Wildcats this season, said. “We went through a lot this year, a lot of adversity, just really proud of how everybody bounced back and were able to come together and love one another for this amazing University.”

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Butler didn’t begin to miss games until a couple of weeks after the initial injury. He went through phases of being healthy enough to play, which typically didn’t last long before the pain became too much to manage. Butler had two instances of sitting out three games before coming back to the floor. A few weeks ago, he began to wear a massive brace over his injured left shoulder to provide an extra layer of cushion.

While he would like for his college career to still be alive, Butler can now go all-in on his rehab process. After being in constant pain for the better of the season, it’s time for PG1 to get fully healthy as he looks to begin his professional basketball career.