Kam Williams has ‘outside chance’ to return this season, Jaland Lowe’s surgery went well

Tuesday’s loss to Vanderbilt was a prime example of how much this team misses Kam Williams. The sophomore wing is one of Kentucky’s best shooters, and the Cats’ offense started to open up with him in the starting lineup. Williams broke his foot during the Texas game on Jan. 21 and underwent surgery on Friday. According to Mark Pope, there is a chance he could rejoin Kentucky this season, but a very “outside” one at that.

“Kam will be a while,” Pope said at his press conference on Thursday. “Kam’s [injury] is less long intensive [than Jaland Lowe’s]. With his particular medical treatment, it’s some place pretty soon that he gets to just a pain tolerance. So, I’d like to make all kinds of jokes on that, but we’ll see on Kam. Like, there’s maybe an outside, outside, outside chance that Kam could rejoin us at some point in the season.”

Pope’s comments echo those of Kam’s father, Greg Williams Sr., who told Jack Pilgrim last week that Kam could return in time for the postseason.

“With surgery, you would have a pin that can stabilize a fracture,” Williams Sr. said. “Many times, you can come back stronger, because you have something that’s reinforcing it even more. … We’re going to leave it up to him, but more than likely, I believe he’s going to choose surgery because it gives him a possibility of being back to battle with his teammates. … He still has a chance to play again this year.”

Fingers crossed. The Cats sure could use him. Williams was averaging 6.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game this season.

Jaland Lowe’s surgery went “perfectly smoothly”

How about Jaland Lowe? Pope said the point guard underwent a successful surgery on his shoulder yesterday and could rejoin the team next week. Lowe’s rehab is expected to take six months.

“He had surgery yesterday, and it went perfectly smoothly, so he’s on the road to recovery, and I don’t know if he’ll be available Saturday, but hopefully next Tuesday…This will be a six-month rehab unless there’s a miracle. I do believe in miracles. We’ll see.”

Lowe had been dealing with the dislocated shoulder all season since suffering the injury in the Blue-White Game in October. After tweaking it a few times, he and his family met with Pope on Jan. 12 and decided to go ahead with the surgery, ending his sophomore season. Pope said Lowe will pursue a medical redshirt in hopes of getting a year of eligibility back. This season, he played in nine games, averaging 8.0 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 rebounds.

Even just having Lowe back on the bench could help matters. Before leaving Lexington to have his surgery, Lowe helped coach the team from the bench during games, most notably during the win over Tennessee. Afterward, Pope said Lowe had taken over personnel scouting in practice, too, with Jayden Quaintance also helping out (ICYMI, Pope also said that Quaintance is now in “full shutdown mode” in terms of on-court work as he deals with swelling in his knee).

“We’re trying to give these guys as much responsibility as we can, clearly with oversight where there’s nothing missed, but their voices need to be heard, and I thought that J. Lowe was unbelievable in the [Tennessee] game, as he’s always been, about being really, really engaged and really offering support to the guys.”

We’ll take it. See you soon, J. Lowe.

Jaland Lowe's bench coaching got noticed. Now he's taking over personnel scouting, presenting to the team.
Jayden Quaintance is rehabbing well & making great progress.
Check out the full The Mark Pope Show presented by UK HealthCare, watch on UKSN All-Access or listen via podcast pic.twitter.com/R7EbDF5xO1

— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) January 20, 2026