(Jeff Houchin Photo)
Kentucky sophomore P.J. Washington, Kentucky’s leading scorer (14.8 points per game) and rebounder (7.5), suffered some type of leg injury in Saturday’s Southeastern Conference Tournament loss to Tennessee and is now in a “boot” for precautionary reasons.
Kentucky starts NCAA Tournament play Thursday night in Jacksonville against Abilene Christian, a No. 15 seed. If the Cats win they would play again Saturday.
Kentucky just got senior center Reid Travis back for the SEC tourney after he had missed five games due to a sprained knee.
Washington’s father, Paul, referred to the information sent out by UK in a text message to me: “PJ has been in a boot since Sunday for precautionary reasons. Any other updates we will have on site tomorrow in Jacksonville.”
Washington was in early foul trouble Saturday against Tennessee but finished the game with no limp or apparent problems. Of course, last year he played part of the season with a broken finger before he told anyone and then still continued to play before having offseason surgery.
Calipari previously has had Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress and Jarred Vanderbilt miss postseason games with injuries.
However, knowing the competitor Washington is, it’s going to have to be a significant injury where he would risk jeopardizing his professional career for him not to play in the NCAA Tournament.
