Calipari Updates Washington's Status
PJ Washington got good news after hurting his foot in the SEC Tournament semifinal against Tennessee. Both X-rays and an MRI were negative, meaning the injury that has had him in a boot for precautionary reasons was a sprained foot.
Even so, he was sent to a specialist, also a precaution.
“Well, if you know me, I’m like, wait a minute, let’s go get one more level of this,” John Calipari said.
Washington had not yet rejoined his team as Coach Cal took the podium for his press conference ahead of Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament opener against Abilene Christian on Thursday. That was expected to change later Wednesday afternoon.
“He’s not here with us right now,” Calipari said. “He’ll probably be here in an hour or so, but we sent him to the specialist to make sure that he can’t harm himself.”
Washington, the lone Wildcat who has played double-digit minutes in an NCAA Tournament game, was named a third-team All-American by multiple outlets after averaging a team-best 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.
“He’s an incredible talent,” Abilene Christian head coach Joe Golding said. “If he’s making shots and he’s scoring the ball on the block, then he’s really tough to defend. So we’ve got to try to force him away from the rim as much as we can, but that’s easier said than done. You’ve got four other pros on the floor with him, too.”
THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: On the morning of UK’s NCAA Tournament opener, Coach Cal provided another update on Washington’s status following his specialist visit. Though it was confirmed there is no fracture, Washington will not be available when Kentucky takes on Abilene Christian.
The specialists confirmed our original diagnosis that @PJWashington has a sprained foot and there is no fracture. Once we determined that PJ was not going to play today, they put him in a hard cast for precautionary reasons. He is out for today’s game.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 21, 2019
