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The Kentucky Wildcats are 6-1 with the December schedule beginning, which features games at Notre Dame, vs. Ohio State in Las Vegas, and at home vs. the Louisville Cardinals.
It’s a good thing those games aren’t happening within the next week, as many of the players and coaches are battling various illnesses.
On Thursday, Calipari gave an update on the health of his team, which may have just seven players able to practice today.
John Calipari said Kentucky still dealing with a lot of illness. "We are so beat up and sick. Thank God we're not playing a game this week. We’ve had one with mono, one with strep throat...Today's practice will probably have seven players there."
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) December 2, 2021
Senior guard Davion Mintz and junior forward Keion Brooks have both missed games due to illnesses, though Brooks was out just one game. Mintz has missed the last three games with his ailment.
After Monday’s win over Central Michigan, Calipari revealed that freshman forward Daimion Collins had a high fever and missed shootaround before logging 13 minutes in the blowout win.
Calipari also said that junior forward Jacob Toppin still isn’t 100% due to his lingering shoulder injury, which cost him four games. The same is true with sophomore forward Lance Ware, who missed three games due to an ankle injury.
Needless to say, the Cats would be in a really bad spot right now if they had to play one of those tougher non-conference teams. Hopefully, they’ll be as rested and healed up as possible when those games come around.