Kentucky's two seniors spend as much time in the training room as they spend on the practice floor.
The knees of Amani Franklin and Lydia Watkins are shot. They creak when they get out of bed and pop when a cold front is blowing through the Bluegrass.
All of that popping and creaking and crackling has led their teammates and coaches to affectionately call them "the grannies" this season.
On their coach's weekly television show, there was a bit recently with Matthew Mitchell interviewing Franklin and Watkins, who were "grannies" wearing crocheted shawls over their practice uniforms as well as short, curly gray wigs and bifocals.
"The team and coaches make fun of us having so many injuries, so it just came up one day," Watkins said, explaining the nickname. "It's definitely something we like. It's funny."
Mitchell called it a term of endearment.
"They're very old," he joked. "And they have numerous ailments that remind me of a granny. I love them ... they're just a little hobbled."
But that's what makes these two players, who will be honored with their Senior Day ceremonies before the South Carolina game, so special, their coach said.
"They've played through tremendous pain all season," he said, "and that's what makes them pretty remarkable."
They're the running wounded.
Franklin's surgically repaired knee constantly swells and is in chronic pain, Mitchell said. She wears a bulky brace on it and doesn't participate in full practices because of the wear and tear it puts on her joints.
When her teammates run sprints, Franklin heads for the stationary bike.
"I know that bike so well, it's like my best friend," Franklin said jokingly this week.
In some games her knee throbs every step she takes down the court. In some games it feels better and she plays better.
"Amani's knee pain is chronic and there's nothing you can do about it," Mitchell said. "She has just battled this season."
Despite the pain and the lack of practice time, Franklin has managed to start every game and averages eight points and 6.7 rebounds a game.
Franklin, who started at UK as a small forward who was charged with scoring, has been moved under the basket as a power forward for her undersized team.
That move has been key to No. 16 Kentucky's 22-4 record this season, Mitchell said.
"Her rebounding has been huge for us and we need it desperately," he said. "We've relied heavily on both of these players during the season."
Watkins' injuries are even more numerous.
The senior from Hopkinsville plays with eight screws in her back after having two surgeries in less than six months late in her high school career.
"I don't know how Lydia Watkins does it," Mitchell said this week. "She has eight screws in her back and she has knees that ache her every day, and a shoulder dislocated. It's incredible."
Watkins also had a baby in the off-season and had to get her body back in playing shape in just a few months.
The forward, who had a career-high 19 points and nine rebounds in UK's last game against Florida, said she hasn't regretted for a minute returning for her senior season.
The Cats are a relative lock for the NCAA Tournament, which has made this season even more special for Watkins and Franklin, who have never experienced post-season outside of the WNIT.
"The hard work I've put in and my teammates have put in, if we could get there, it would be the greatest thing ever," Watkins said.
For Mitchell, the "greatest thing ever" would be for the seniors to be sent off with a big win in front of a big crowd against South Carolina on Sunday.
It would mean that the Cats didn't lose a single game at Memorial Coliseum all season.
"Everybody needs to pull together here to do their best to send these two players off with a win on Sunday," he said. "I want that badly for them. I want them to be able to look back and say, 'We did not lose at home our senior year.' It needs to be important to all of us."
