A lot of things were off in Kentucky’s loss to Evansville Tuesday night, but Ashton Hagans struggles are the most concerning.
Following the game, John Calipari admits he probably should have sat Hagans due to a leg injury but he was hoping Hagans could push through the game.
“He’s a little bit injured right now so he hasn’t really been practicing and by not being able to really get after it, that’s his game,” Calipari said. “So, we’ve got to figure it out whether we shut it down completely and I was trying to say, let’s get through this game and take some time. Probably should have had him take the game off.”
Hagans struggled mightily in the Wildcats loss, finishing with three points on 1-of-8 shooting, including four turnovers in 24 minutes.
Calipari hasn’t been specific about the type of injury Hagans is playing through but we first heard about it last week.
“He was hurt,” Calipari said after Michigan State. “His leg had been bothering him for about four or five days. For him to say his leg is bothering him, and we’ve had the MRI, we’ve done everything, there’s nothing there. It’s more of a strain or a muscle thing.”
Kentucky is already dealing with an ankle injury that EJ Montgomery suffered last week and Dontaie Allen is still a couple of weeks from being released for full practice. The Wildcats are already too thin and can’t afford another player missing time.
