Senior forward appears to be ready to return to action from the sprained knee he suffered on Feb. 19 in UK's victory at Missouri. John Calipari says he could be available for short stretches off the bench in the SEC Tournament.
Kentucky's players on Tuesday echoed what Wildcats head coach John Calipari hinted at the day before: it appears senior forward Reid Travis is ready to return from a sprained knee that has forced him to miss UK's last five games.
The 6-foot-8, 238-pound Travis began working out individually with UK assistant coach Kenny Payne on Monday and has gone through some light drills with the Cats.
“Just running up and down, layup drills, stuff like that," UK freshman wing Tyler Herro said of Travis. "He was just getting his reps in. It was a good workout, though."
Herro added that Travis (11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) brings intangibles to the table that don't always show up in the box score. "Offensively, setting screens, stuff like that. Just being a leader. Obviously, we're going to be happy when he comes back because he's a huge part of our team."
No. 4 Kentucky (26-5, 15-3 SEC) survived without Travis, posting a 4-1 record in the games he missed, but the Wildcats did not play with the same efficiency they displayed prior to the injury.
The Cats shot 31.8 percent and 41.3 percent against Tennessee and Florida, respectively, and experienced a spike in turnovers during the five games without Travis.
More notably, All-SEC forward PJ Washington was not able to put up the same kind of offensive production that he did when he was on the floor with Travis. Prior to the Mizzou game, Washington had posted 20 points or more in seven out of eight games. He's had only one such game since the injury.
“Having him back is great," Washington said. "Not a lot of teams can double (team) us because we definitely have another post player who can really score the ball. It’s going to be harder for teams to guard us. He’s great on the defensive end. He always knows what we’re in, he’s vocal, and he’s a leader.”
Kentucky enters the SEC Tournament this week as the No. 2 seed, which has given the staff more time to bring Travis back without rushing him. The Cats will play the winner of the Ole Miss-Alabama second-round matchup on Friday at 7 p.m. in Nashville.
Calipari indicated on his weekly Monday radio show that he thinks Travis may be available to come off the bench and play in short stints in the quarterfinals. A potential rematch with Tennessee could be looming on Saturday in the semifinals, where Travis' presence would be magnified against the Volunteers' Grant Williams.
