The win over Eastern Illinois was overshadowed by the status of point guard Jaland Lowe, who reinjured his shoulder in practice. While Mark Pope was measured in his update, Lowe's teammate, Andrija Jelavić, gave a heartbreaking, firsthand account of the moment it happened.
His quote is what every fan fears.
“I honestly am not really an emotional guy, but, I’m really sad, honestly, I got goosebumps when he yelled for B. Wells, our doctor, and when I heard it was the same shoulder I was really sad for him honestly,” Jelavić said.
Jelavić's empathy for his teammate was palpable.
“He’s a really good human being, outside of the court, very good player on the court, and I know how much this means to him. I know how much he hates this, and although he’s not showing it, I know how upset he is, and honestly, we’re upset but we need to stay strong for him.”
What is Jaland Lowe's official injury status?
Mark Pope was asked directly for an update on Lowe and what's next, especially given the history of shoulder injuries in the program.
“We don’t have anything yet. We will probably have some discussions over the next couple of days about what’s the best thing to do right now. That’s probably the point where we are right now,” Pope said. “We’ve got a bevy of second and third opinions and right now is going to be more just the whole group, the whole medical team and mom and dad and JLowe and me sitting down having a real conversation about what’s the best thing to do moving forward.”
The team is clearly bracing for a significant decision. However, Jelavić ended with a vote of confidence in the team's "next man up" mentality.
“I think we’re a team that no matter what player is missing, it doesn’t feel like it’s missing because we really have a lot of players on each position and if Jaland went down, Aberdeen, Chandler, Jasper, everyone steps up.”
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion