Kentucky’s $22M roster finally healthy — and the Wildcats look dangerous again

ATLANTA — When you spend an estimated $22 million on a college basketball roster, and that number gets reported and passed around, it becomes the first thing people bring up whenever things go badly.

Nobody understands this better than Mark Pope.

As one person close to Kentucky’s program told me pregame, the second-year coach of the Wildcats “has been taking bullets” after starting 5-4 with a 35-point loss to Gonzaga and a 17-point loss to Michigan State. But what’s been absent from too many conversations about UK’s struggles is the fact that a decent percentage of that $22 million roster, including the best point guard and the best center, had barely played, or not played at all, heading into Saturday’s CBS Sports Classic.

So it was fitting, but also kinda hilarious, when six men entered the press room here at State Farm Arena to represent the Wildcats following UK’s 78-66 victory over No. 22 St. John’s — and half of them were people who have worked relentlessly to get Kentucky’s banged-up roster healthy.

“Alright guys,” Pope said upon taking a seat. “JQ is gonna give us our opening statement.”

JQ, of course, is Jayden Quaintance — the 6-foot-10 sophomore who played Saturday for the first time since tearing his ACL last February while competing for Arizona State. He’s a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, a bouncy athlete with a 7-5 wingspan, and the first thing he wanted to do after getting 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes was publicly thank the people who helped him return to action exactly nine months and one day after having knee surgery — specifically assistant coach Mikhail McClean, senior athletic trainer Brandon Wells and head strength coach Randy Towner.

“You know, this is my first game back, and It’s been a long time in the making, and I couldn’t have been here, like at all, without the help of the people on my right,” Quaintance said in a nod to the men who were, just like him, wearing black shirts with Quaintance’s image on the front and the words “BACK REAL SOON” on the flip side. “We’ve been here every day since June, just working, every single day. … Without these guys, I don’t think I could’ve been here today. So, all the thanks goes to them.”

McClean, Wells and Towner were standing to Quaintance’s right. Pope was on his left. And to Pope’s left was Jaland Lowe, who, unlike Quaintance, had played this season — but not a lot. The 6-2 point guard missed six of UK’s first nine games, including the losses to Michigan State and North Carolina, with a shoulder injury. And, just seven seconds after entering Saturday’s game, even before Quaintance checked-in, Lowe reaggravated the shoulder and immediately went to the locker room.

Then UK fell behind by double-digits.

Things did not look good.

But Lowe said afterward that he knew, after a few minutes, that he was “going to be good.” So, with 17:07 remaining, and the Wildcats down 37-31, Lowe reentered the game and flipped it completely. He took seven shots, made five of them and finished with 13 points, three assists and three steals in 15 minutes.

Kentucky outscored St. John’s 47-29 after Lowe stepped back on the court. Basically, the Wildcats played one half with him and one half without him. The one with him was dramatically different and helped UK erase a deficit and extend its winning streak to three heading into Tuesday’s game with Bellarmine.

“You saw the impact he can have on our team,” Pope said. “You saw one half without J-Lowe, and one half with J-Lowe. I’m voting for the half with J-Lowe because he just changes everything we do. But we’re going to proceed with caution [with his shoulder]. He’s going to fight through this deal and he’s gonna be great.”

Lowe nodded in agreement. And, suddenly, things are looking up at Kentucky.

No, the 5-4 start wasn’t ideal. But, again, Quaintance didn’t play in any of the losses, Lowe missed two of the four losses, and Mouhamed Dioubate, UK’s third-leading scorer, also missed two of the four losses. Those three can reasonably be described as three of Kentucky’s most important players, and they had not appeared on the court together, for even one second, until there was 16:07 left in Saturday’s second half.

From there, UK outscored St. John’s 45-26.

“[People] are expecting Kentucky to be this great basketball team with all of those injuries,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said while discussing the Wildcats with the assembled media. “So you all need to learn a lesson: You can’t be a great basketball team without … your best players.”

It’s s fair point.

So is everything now all sunshine and roses at Kentucky?

That’s probably a stretch, if only because it sounds like Lowe will have to, as Pope put it, “fight through this deal” with his shoulder for a while. And, if the win over St. John’s showed us anything other than that Kentucky can be really good when its best players are actually on the court together, it’s that Lowe’s shoulder could pop up as an issue that forces him off the court at basically any time.

Fingers crossed and all that.

Either way, Saturday did feel like a possible turning point for Kentucky. For the first time all season, the Wildcats’ most important players were all on the floor together. It took them 11 games and one half to make it a reality, but the early impressions were undeniably impressive.