Optimism poured out of the Joe Craft Center all offseason. Kentucky fans finally felt like things were stabilizing under Mark Pope. But that sense of calm lasted right up until Oct. 17 — the moment Jaland Lowe crumpled to the Memorial Coliseum floor, grabbing his right shoulder in pain.
Instantly, the feeling across Big Blue Nation changed to something all too familiar: “Not again.”
Lowe was supposed to be the steadying force, the new starting point guard built to carry Pope’s second Kentucky team. And his shoulder injury was eerily similar to the one that hobbled last year’s point guard, Lamont Butler, during the closing stretch of the season.
There was a small silver lining — Lowe is left-hand dominant. And a few days later Pope said the injury wasn’t as severe as the one that plagued Butler. Lowe returned to practice, eased into contact, sat out the exhibitions and the opener, then played against Valparaiso and Louisville, even logging 30 minutes in the rivalry game.
But then came Nov. 13.
Late in practice, Lowe once again went down screaming for athletic trainer Brandon Wells. Word spread fast. Fans braced for the worst. “Here we go again,” echoed through the fan base for the second time in a month.
As of Monday, there’s still no final determination. Lowe’s father said the MRI showed nothing worse than the October injury and pushed back on any claims that his son would miss the season. Optimists see a path for Lowe to return. Realists know this cloud has hovered over Kentucky far too often.
One thing is undeniable: Kentucky’s point guard curse hasn’t gone anywhere.
A Position That Once Defined an Era
The early John Calipari years were built on dominant point guard play — and Kentucky fans came to expect it.
John Wall electrified a program starving for relevance.
Brandon Knight sent Kentucky back to the Final Four.
Marquis Teague steered a loaded roster to the 2012 national title.
Andrew Harrison led the Cats to back-to-back Final Fours.
Tyler Ulis became an All-American.
De’Aaron Fox became a star.
But after Fox came turbulence.
Calipari began juggling highly ranked recruits, transfers, and expectations — often with painful results.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, miscast early as a reserve, eventually became an NBA MVP–caliber talent while Quade Green, the Day 1 starter, struggled.
Ashton Hagans’ turnovers in the Elite Eight remain infamous.
Injuries to TyTy Washington and Cason Wallace disrupted promising seasons.
The Saint Peter’s loss — with Sahvir Wheeler at the controls — became the defining moment of a declining era.
And D.J. Wagner’s prolonged struggles, despite Sheppard and Dillingham shining off the bench, became the final wedge between Calipari and a frustrated fan base.
By the time Calipari left for Arkansas, the stability once guaranteed at point guard had evaporated.
And Now the Pope Era Has Its Own Point Guard Nightmare
Mark Pope inherited that instability — and somehow, it’s gotten even worse.
Last season was chaos:
Lamont Butler sprained his ankle early.
While Butler was out, Kerr Kriisa took over — only to suffer a season-ending foot injury in his first game as starter.
Butler returned but hurt his shoulder and never fully recovered.
Jaxson Robinson, the emergency third-string point guard, later went down with a wrist injury.
This year was supposed to be different.
Pope rebuilt the backcourt with a true floor general in Lowe, plus Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, and freshman Jasper Johnson. Lowe quickly became the clear PG1, and the team openly embraced him as the driving force of the offense.
Then came shoulder injury No. 1.
Then came shoulder injury No. 2.
Even if Lowe returns, every collision, every hard fall, every bit of contact will make Kentucky fans hold their breath.
Until then, the job belongs to Aberdeen — a capable, confident guard — but also a player who now steps into a role haunted by years of bad luck.
The Most Frustrating Part? None of This Was Predictable
This isn’t a case of a staff rolling the dice on fragile players.
Butler had played 104 straight games before last year.
Kriisa had never missed meaningful time.
Robinson barely missed a game at BYU.
Lowe played 64 of 65 games at Pitt.
There was no warning sign.
No history of chronic injuries.
Just terrible timing — again.
When asked Friday whether he might add a midseason point guard, Pope quickly dismissed the idea.
> “I’m really confident in the group we have. I think we just have so much growing to do.”
Kentucky can grow.
Kentucky can win big.
But this is not the conversation Pope expected to have in mid-November.
Not again.
