UK, K-State Closely Watching Injured Vanderbilt, Wade
ATLANTA – Two players who didn’t even play the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament were among the most popular subjects of conversation on Wednesday.
As Kentucky and Kansas State prepare to face off in the Sweet 16, everyone wants to know: Will Jarred Vanderbilt and Dean Wade play?
The Vanderbilt question is one to which fans of fifth-seeded Kentucky (26-10) are accustomed. The 6-foot-9 freshman’s debut was delayed by more than two months by injury. Then, after he suited up 14 games in a row, another injury the week of the Southeastern Conference has forced him to miss the last five games.
Even Vanderbilt isn’t sure whether he’ll be back when Kentucky takes on No. 9 seed Kansas State (24-11) at approximately 9:37 p.m. on Thursday in Atlanta’s Philips Arena.
“We talked the other day just to see where I was at physically,” Vanderbilt said, referencing a conversation with John Calipari. “I’m still day to day right now and just trying to be optimistic.”
There’s no questioning Vanderbilt’s impact when he does play. His energy was a key factor in UK’s late-season surge and his rebounding (7.9 per game in just 17.0 minutes) invaluable.
“When you get Jarred on the court, you know what he brings to the table: that energy,” Wenyen Gabriel said. “I feel like we can all still continue to feed off that. He can go in and give a big spark.”
The other thing that can’t be questioned is Vanderbilt’s desire to play. The Houston native has enjoyed his team’s NCAA Tournament run so far, but he desperately wants to be part of the next step.
“I think he definitely wants to play,” Sacha Killeya-Jones said. “I think everybody can tell that. I think everybody can tell based off how hard he went when he came back that he really wants to be out on the court. He loves the game, he loves his team, he wants to help us win games.”
“He just keeps coming, ‘I can do this,’ ” Calipari said.
Unfortunately, it seems more likely he won’t.
“It’s hard to play a guy that’s going to play 80, 90 percent in these kind of environments,” Calipari said. “It’s just hard. The game is played at a high level. When you talk Kansas State, they’re physical, they play hard, they’ll fly, and then if they don’t have it, they grind. You know, it’s hard walking into a game like that. They lead their league in steals. With the way they play, which they cover that lane. My guess is no, but it would be nice to have him there.”
Kansas State surely feels the same way about Wade, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder at 16.5 ppg and 6.3 rpg, but the 6-10 junior seems more likely than Vanderbilt to play. After Wade pronounced earlier in the week he was “98 percent sure” he would play, his coach gave an update on his status after Wade participated in practice on Wednesday.
“You know, he’s not going to be a 30-minute guy, but we can get like NBA, the minute guy, a couple minutes here, a couple minutes there,” Bruce Weber said. “Obviously smart, he does a lot of good things for us, it would be a nice boost. I know the guys were excited to have him back and cheering him on today.”
Wade, who has 3-point range and is shooting 40 of 91 (44 percent) from beyond the arc on the season, has missed Kansas State’s last three games with a stress fracture in his foot. The Wildcats are 2-1 in those games.
“You know, when one player on your team goes down, it’s a type of mental toughness from everybody else on your team that you’ve got to step it up,” Kansas State point guard Kamau Stokes said. “We’ve shown that throughout this whole season.”
UK has done the same. Vanderbilt, whether he plays or not, is confident his team will do it again Thursday.
“Even in my absence, I think regardless we’re still going to play good,” Vanderbilt said.
