Trent Noah’s toughness has never been questioned, but Mark Pope offered a revealing look into why the staff may take injury decisions out of his hands. After hurting his ankle in a bad way, Noah tried to get back out on the court in the second half.
“I don't think we'll practice him today. I don't know if he'll be available tomorrow,” Pope said. “I'm guessing maybe he it's probably a toss up... I'm probably leaning to saving him and and just trying to get him healthy.” You can see video of the injury here.
The reason? Noah is too tough for his own good.
Mark Pope is taking a cautious approach when it comes to injuries
“The one complicated thing about Trent, you love players like this... he’s never going to tell you that he’s in pain ever, ever, ever. And so I'll probably err a little bit on the side of caution with him.”
Despite the minor setback, Pope raved about what Noah brings to this team, explaining why he earned a starting spot.
“Trent's been so good. He's been so solid. He shot the ball so well. He's been such a good decision maker,” Pope said. “He's, you know, in his year and a couple months here has been one of our best ball protection guys and one of our elite level shooters... I felt like he really brought us some peace on the court.”
That peace is often a settling conversation or making a nice easy pass. Noah does all the little things that don't show up in the stat sheet but are need to win tough games. If his shot does finally start falling like it does in practice, look out.
For now, Pope is going to let him take his time and get back. For an Eastern Kentucky kid, they will probably have to fight him to keep him off the court against Louisville, but there is little doubt he will be out tonight.
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