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As good as the Kentucky Wildcats have looked during their three-game winning streak, it's all come without the services of Alex Poythress.
The senior forward missed those games due to a minor knee procedure done on his non-surgically repaired knee, but it was serious enough that there was initial doubt as to when he'd return with not much of this season left. As it turns out, Alex may return very soon based on the latest updates
Kyle Tucker of the Louisville Courier-Journal reports Alex may return as soon as next week when UK has games against Alabama and at Vanderbilt.
Hearing that Alex Poythress is looking better and better and on track to return for Kentucky next week. Large for the Cats.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_CJ) February 17, 2016
On Monday while filling in for John Calipari's call-in show, Kenny Payne said Poythress has started to run on his injured knee again, "lightly jogging" at the Joe Craft Center, so it's safe to think his return is fairly close.
Before Poythress underwent the procedure, he had just moved to the starting 5 spot and was having good success there. In those four games, he averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 boards in 25.5 minutes per game.
Even without him, Kentucky managed to beat Florida, Georgia and South Carolina by an average of 26.7 points while handing those three their biggest losses of the season. UK has simply looked dominant without Poythress, but he's still a good player who will only make this team even better when he returns.
While this recent streak may suggest otherwise, don't forget UK was starting to come on with Poythress, so just because they may have finally reached their potential doesn't mean it's because Alex isn't there.