Terrence Jones continues to recover from a dislocated pinky finger that’s caused him to miss UK’s last three games. The Cats haven’t needed Jones in those games against Samford, Loyola MD, and Chattanooga, but they will need him against 4th ranked Louisville Saturday at high noon.
Jones did manage to practice today in both of UK’s practice sessions, but was limited to non-contact drills. His status for tomorrow night is unknown to this point. Cal faces a tough dilemma regarding his star player: Does he sit him and rest him for the UL game, but risk having him play cold against the Cardinals, or does he play him against Lamar and let him get his feet back under him after going through a horrible slump prior to his injury while risking further injury?
Coach Calipari did say that today’s two practice sessions will determine if he plays tomorrow, so hopefully he’ll have a good idea of how to manage Jones this week.
Though UK needs Jones in order to achieve its goal of a return to the Final Four, there have been some positive things to come from this injury. Since his injury, Senior guard Darius Miller has stepped up his level of play, scoring 14 ppg the last three games after averaging 8 ppg the first nine games. He’s played much more aggressively and taken on more of a leadership role, something that Jones has struggled to do even when he’s been at his best. Every great team needs a leader. Last year Brandon Knight assumed the leadership role by the time the Cats were in the NCAA tournament, and his poise and big shots lead the Cats to the Final Four. Every past National Champion has had a leader on their team to complement all of the great players they’ve had. Its simple: Championships require leadership, and Miller is playing like a leader now.
Another positive from Jones’ injury is the emergence of Kyle Wiltjer. His minutes have gone up in Jones’ absence, and so has his confidence. In his last game, the freshman scored a career-high 24 points against Loyola MD. His defense is also improving, and he’s learning how to use his teammates on help defense. Wiltjer is currently the 7th man in UK’s rotation, and there’s been games where he was the 8th man behind Eloy Vargas. When a team can have a back-up player like Wiltjer on their team who can come in when a starter gets hurt or is in foul trouble, and produce to the extent Wiltjer has at times, it can be the difference between an Elite Eight and a Final Four. Kemba Walker was the 6th and 7th man at times for UCONN in 2009 when they made the Final Four. After averaging only 9 ppg that season, Walker exploded for a season-high 23 points against Missouri in the regional final to lead UCONN to a 7-point win to help the Huskies advance to the Final Four. Could Wiltjer be the difference for the Cats? He certainly has the ability too.