Mark Pope suddenly has a web of injuries to manage, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Kentucky has invested a reported $22 million into its new era, and it would be a blow if the vision never fully hits the floor. Jayden Quaintance- the Arizona State transfer with the highest NIL valuation on the roster- sits at $1.9 million, per On3.com, sixth-highest among all players entering the 2025-26 season. Jaland Lowe is believed to be earning in a similar range. Yet both will be spectators for a while, based on Pope’s latest update.

Quaintance arrived already recovering from an ACL tear. Pope declined to redshirt him, insisting the freshman was progressing at an unbelievable pace. “We’re all kind of shaking our heads like, ‘How is this humanly possible?’ He feels like he’s on the verge of being ready to go in,” Pope said last month. But following Kentucky’s win over EIU, the coach acknowledged that Jayden still hasn’t gone through a high-pressure scrimmage- a hurdle he’ll need to clear before any return to action.

“I would say with JQ, I’ve not spent a lot of time worrying. I’m just excited when he’s ready to go, and it’s going to be fun, and we have so much to figure out with JQ,” Pope told the media. “He hasn’t been in any type of live action. It will be 9 months since he’s actually done anything live and had any contact at all. So, I’m way more curious than I am worried.”

Almost every update regarding Jayden so far has been positive. Pope has consistently said that he will heavily contribute this season. Last week, Pope started him in some “5v5 minimal contact” per reporter Jeff Drummond, but it seems the Wildcats are cautiously moving forward.

In Jayden’s first year, he averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 1.5 assists while shooting 52.5% from the field. So it will be interesting to see how he can improve on that on the back of a major injury. While it’s positive for Jayden, things look grim for Jaland Lowe.

“We’ll probably have some discussions over the next couple of days about what’s the best thing to do right now,” Pope explained. “I think we’ve got a bevy of second and third opinions, and so right now it’s going to be more just the whole group, the whole medical team, and mom and dad, and J Lowe and me sitting down and having a real conversation about what’s the best thing to do moving forward.”

Lowe’s reinjury would ring alarm bells for Pope. Last season, their point guard position had the same problem.

Lamont Butler played with a shoulder brace for the majority of the season, and he never returned to his previous form. Kerr Krissa bowed out with a foot injury. This season, it’s Jaland Lowe. He injured his shoulder during a preseason scrimmage on October 17.

He then sat out the exhibition games and their opener against Nicholls. It seemed his minor injury was in the rear-view mirror after scoring 6 points and a game-high 5 assists on his comeback against Valparaiso.

Pope ramped him up to 30 minutes against Louisville. However, the injury struck in another practice session. A surgery will end his season on the spot, but he has options to potentially avoid it. According to his father,  his son has not yet been ruled out for the season.

“Not at all,” Marland Lowe said in a 14th November interview when asked if his son had received a season-ending diagnosis. “He had an MRI, and nothing came back any worse than what it was before. So we just have to see what the doctors say.”

Against Eastern Illinois, there wasn’t much of an issue without either of the two. Mo Dioubate scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Denzel Aberdeen had 13, as No. 9 Kentucky blasted Eastern Illinois 99-52 on Friday night at Rupp Arena.

Otega Oweh chipped in with 12, while Andrija Jelavic and Malachi Moreno each had 11 points. While having Lowe for even a limited time would be an ideal scenario, the decision will be made with his long-term future in mind.

Mark Pope Optimistic About Their Point Guard Crisis

Even with all the heavy paychecks, this Kentucky side has a major flaw in its core. They had only one true point guard in Jaland Lowe. With Lowe out for at least an extended period of time, there is a major hole in this Kentucky offense.

However, Pope insists they have a very deep roster. And their big men are capable enough ball handlers and passers to share the duties.

“It’s one of the nice things about the way we play is we feel like we have a lot of options to go to on a need-to-basis. There’s so much to learn,” Pope said.

“But yes, I feel a lot of comfort because I think we have a lot of options, and it’s not really options like the ball’s going to be in this person’s hands all the time. It’s just that there are a lot of ways that we can attack the game with guys that potentially could be playmaking deciders.”

When Lowe missed time in the offseason, Pope pointed to four players capable of running the offense apart from their primary role: Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, Jasper Johnson, and Otega Oweh. In the Purdue exhibition, they worked wonders.

However, there is a significant difference between the preseason and the in-season. Pope’s BYU tactics provide us with some guidance on how this team can function effectively without a primary ball handler.

He ran the 5-out offense or 4-out-1-in for most of the time at BYU. His BYU team had great pacing coupled with elite perimeter defense (32.0% opponent 3-point % in his last season). They relied on some off-the-ball movement to shake defenses.

This Kentucky team has enough size and control to sustain this for a prolonged period.

Otega Oweh could become the primary downhill creator with Chandler at the secondary. Colin excels at shooting from outside, providing them with variety.

With Quaintance still out, Garrison will continue to be the primary paint threat. This kind of offense will give them more unpredictability, but also carries the risk of increasing turnovers. It will be up to Pope on how he retools his lineup with Lowe out.