Friday Headlines: Should Kentucky play Braydon Hawthorne and burn redshirt?

Kentucky basketball has been bit by the injury bug this season and head coach Mark Pope is running out of options.

First it was starting point guard Jaland Lowe — the only true PG on the team — injuring his shoulder multiple times throughout the first half of the season before shutting it down to have season-ending shoulder surgery a few weeks ago.

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Then it was star big man Jayden Quaintance who Kentucky had waited on to come back from a torn ACL and is now battling swelling in that surgically repaired knee with no timetable for a return — if at all.

Most recently, rising forward Kam Williams broke his foot in the team’s win over Texas on Wednesday night. He was having a very good game before going down — nine points, a rebound & an assist on 67% shooting — but did not reappear in the game and is now out indefinitely pending the recovery timeline from his procedure.

These three injuries have really crippled Kentucky’s roster and is having Pope make decisions related to lineup adjustments as well as decisions regarding eligibility when it comes to freshman Braydon Hawthorne, who is currently on a redshirt year but is reportedly getting better every day and might just be able to make an impact for UK.