Mark Pope says Jaxson Robinson's wrist "didn't respond great" vs. Oklahoma

Kentucky had its normal starting lineup back tonight, but not for long. Jaxson Robinson sat out the second half after playing 12 minutes in the first, scoring seven points, getting two steals, and dishing an assist. It was Robinson’s first game back after injuring his right (shooting) wrist during a collision with Brandon Garrison in practice on Feb. 10, the day before the Tennessee game. He came out from halftime with his wrist on ice. Although he was listed as questionable to return, his night was over.

It wasn’t the only injury scare of the night. Amari Williams rolled his ankle early in the game and had to come out for a little bit. Andrew Carr‘s back seemed to be bothering him at halftime. Tonight was also Lamont Butler‘s first game back after missing three with a re-aggravated shoulder injury.

“Yeah, so Jax’s wrist didn’t respond great tonight, so we’ll see how that is going forward,” Mark Pope told reporters afterward. “I think Andrew [Carr] is doing okay. I think he’s okay. I think Lamont [Butler] is okay. We’ll see. You know, for us moving forward, it’s always the morning after that we’re going to know a lot more.”

Tonight was a homecoming of sorts for several Cats, most notably Otega Oweh, who carried the team to victory in the second half. Brandon Garrison also played a huge part. Pope said it was also important for Robinson, who hails from Ada, Oklahoma, just over an hour from Norman, to play tonight too.

“I think this game here, at Oklahoma, means something to Jax, too, and I think he was excited to get out here and try it. I think both of those guys were dying to get back on the floor.”

Pope encouraged by Butler’s return

Butler finished with 7 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 turnovers in 20 minutes before fouling out with 4:16 to go. Even before Butler got into foul trouble, Pope rotated Travis Perry and the rest of Kentucky’s makeshift backcourt in to spell Butler, who is still trying to get back to game condition.

“Yeah, just fatigue,” Pope said of the substitutions. “I mean, you see Lamont, he gets rubber legs out there. You know, he hasn’t played in a month, really. I know he’s been spotty, he’s done a lot of off-court stuff. It’s just different when you’re on the court. So, can you buy him 90 seconds so he can kind of catch his wind and get back in the game? And that’s probably the way we’ll have to roll as we patchwork this together.”

When it comes to Butler’s shoulder, he didn’t seem to be playing with any noticeable pain, absorbing contact throughout the game while playing with a large brace on. Pope said they’ll see how he feels in the morning, but going into the game, he, Butler, and the staff were confident his shoulder was in a good spot.

“Lamont’s been actually pretty good for the last week, 10 days, maybe back to where he was before we threw him out last time. So, it was just kind of, we were just in this waiting space where it’s just like, he’s moving great, like limited movement that you might notice on the court is because this brace is so tight right now, trying to keep him together. So, I think the thinking was, it was four games left, it was kind of like a good runway for him to kind of find himself back into this.”

Continue to send those healing vibes to the Joe Craft Center ahead of Saturday’s game vs. No. 1 Auburn.

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