Kentucky’s preseason injury list got a little longer Tuesday, but there was at least one encouraging update tucked into Mark Pope’s Media Day remarks.
The newest name to watch is senior guard Jerone Morton, who hurt his knee in practice and will be reevaluated in a few weeks. The Lexington native arrived from Washington State this offseason after one year with the Cougars and two at Morehead State.
Last season, Morton started 29 of 32 games and put up 7.8 points, 2.6 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 43.8% from the field, 38.7% from deep and 82% at the line. He was expected to back up Zoom Diallo at point guard, and the injury could open the door for freshman Mason Williams, who drew attention during summer workouts.
Morton’s knee adds to a summer and preseason stretch that has already included four other injury situations for Kentucky. Milan Momcilovic jammed his right index finger on the final day of summer practice and has been wearing a splint while practicing.
He should be cleared to go without it next week. That matters, because Momcilovic is the nation’s best three-point shooter and a key part of the starting lineup.
Trent Noah also tweaked his hamstring over the summer, and the school says the junior forward is “hopeful to return in a couple of weeks.” Franck Kepnang is not on the current injury report, though he was on a pitch count during summer workouts so he can be at full strength for the season.
The other big update centered on Kam Williams, who had another surgery on his foot in July and will miss Kentucky’s preseason exhibitions against Little Rock, Texas Tech and UCF. The school says Williams is “progressing well” and “hopeful” to be back for the regular season.
His foot issue traces back to a Jones fracture in his left foot suffered against Texas on January 21. At the time, Pope said Williams had an “outside chance” to return that season, but he recovered faster than expected and came back for Kentucky’s SEC and NCAA Tournament runs.
“He obviously kind of re-injured his previous Jones fracture,” Pope said of Williams. “It didn’t heal all the way correctly, so we had to do a more extensive surgery that we think has an incredible success rate. So we have very high expectations of him to be back healthy.”
Williams is out of the boot now, and Pope said that even though he still hasn’t practiced, he’s been active in the weight room and the film room.
“He wasn’t doing anything on the court. He was in a boot for a long time, being very cautious, making sure we have a full rehab.
He was doing a lot in the film room. He was doing a ton in the weight room.
He’d be the first to tell you that his shoulders are much bigger than they were before.”
Williams averaged 6.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist last season while shooting 44.9% from the field and 35.9% from three. Pope said the junior already knows the system and the program well, which should make his return smoother once he’s ready.
“I’d like to get him healthy because he’s a really good player. And yes, every day that we have where we can have our roster on the court helps us.
The nice thing for us is, Kam knows us, and he knows what we do. He understands what we’re trying to do.
So when he gets back, he’s not coming back like as a brand new guy to this system. He understands it.
He pays great attention. He’s done an admirable job all summer long working the clock.
In fact, I probably might fire one of our managers because Kam’s doing so much better, but he’s taking everything in.”
Pope also said Williams took part in a shooting workout Tuesday morning and didn’t miss.
“It was fun to see him this morning; we were kind of doing shooting workouts in the morning, and he’s back in the shooting workouts. And you know, I only watched him for a couple minutes, but I didn’t see him miss, and so I like that. That’s gonna be important to get him back full speed.”
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