Hagans puts positive spin on Sestina injury: UK has been here before
First, Kerry Blackshear Jr., transferred to Florida rather than Kentucky. Then Nick Richards turned an ankle. EJ Montgomery sustained a high (right) ankle sprain.
News of the latest setback to hit UK’s already diminished (by UK standards) front line came Wednesday morning when John Calipari tweeted that Nate Sestina broke his left wrist in practice Tuesday and would be sidelined three to four weeks.
How loud are alarm bells ringing?
“Not loud at all,” point guard Ashton Hagans said with a smile Wednesday. “It’s happened to us before.”
Hagans reminded reporters that UK soldiered on last season after Reid Travis and PJ Washington sustained injuries. UK was an overtime period away from advancing to the Final Four.
And Kentucky began this season with a 5-1 record going into Friday’s game against UAB despite the injuries. In the preseason, Richards turned an ankle. Then Montgomery missed three games because of an ankle injury. A chest injury sidelined Immanuel Quickley for the Utah Valley game. Freshman Kahlil Whitney kept playing despite a dislocated pinky finger on his left hand. And Hagans has been playing despite “nicks and bruises,” Calipari has said.
“It’s time for somebody else to step up,” Hagans said.
Whitney an option
Whitney got several mentions on Wednesday as that somebody. Calipari said he has tried a smaller lineup in practice with three guards, and Whitney as a 6-foot-6, 210-pound power forward.
“He’s more physical” than other options, Calipari said of Whitney. “And if we’re playing another team that has a 6-6 physical guy, I think Kahlil can play him better. And I’m not sure any ‘fours’ can guard him.”
Whitney sounded ready for the assignment.
When asked how he could deal with bigger and stronger opposing power forwards, Whitney said, “Just use my athleticism. Usually other guys at the ‘four-spot’ are bigger than me.” After a pregnant pause, he added with a wry smile, “slower than me.
“So that’s a mismatch.”
Sestina becoming the latest UK player sidelined by injury raised a question about whether the Wildcats felt cursed.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Whitney said. “I don’t think anybody in the country practices as hard as we do. But it’ll eventually pay off when we have everybody, and we’ll be flowing.”
Sestina’s injury also raised a question about UK having only 10 scholarship players, eight of which will be available to play against UAB.
“When we had 11 and 12, it was Derek (Willis) and Dom (Hawkins) . . . ,” the UK coach said. “They understood they were 11 and 12. . . . (They understood) they weren’t getting in till 10 other guys got in.”
That kind of understanding and patience can be in short supply in the age of one-and-done players and Kentucky perceived as a springboard to the NBA, Calipari said.
In the wake of Sestina’s injury, Calipari said his job is to find silver linings. More than once, he mentioned that Sestina broke the left — non-shooting hand — wrist.
And freshman Dontaie Allen played “a little bit” in half-court situations during Wednesday’s practice, Calipari said. “He didn’t move great, but he played some.”
“They were looking at me this morning,” Calipari said of the players. “I’m, like, ‘Look, I’m jacked up. There’s no one feeling sorry for us. No one. A lot of happy people, and I’m looking at it as, all right. Let’s go. Let’s do this.’”
The UK coach did not identify who the happy people were.
No rush on return
Sestina broke a wrist when he fell to the floor on a layup attempt, Calipari said. The UK coach explained what happened by motioning as if using his hand to break a fall.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said of the injury, “but it’s part of what we do.”
Of Sestina’s return from the injury, Calipari said, “I’m not going to rush it.”
Don Sestina, the player’s father, said his son underwent surgery Wednesday morning. “They screwed bones together, which will allow for faster healing,” said the elder Sestina, who added that “there’s nothing worse for him than sitting down and watching.”
Sestina, who came to UK from Bucknell, averaged 7.3 points and 7.2 rebounds through the first six games. He had made 12 of 27 shots, including three of 13 three-point shots.
Earlier in the week, former Coach Joe B. Hall saluted Sestina. “He can be the hustle leader,” Hall said.
After Sestina scored three points in UK’s victory over Lamar on Sunday, Calipari said the graduate transfer needed attention from the coaches.
“We’ve got to get Nate back to being comfortable and more of a guy that’s, you know, showing who he is,” Calipari said. “Not trying to live up to something because it changes how you play.”
At the news conference, Calipari explained that Sestina was “trying to prove himself, ‘that I belong here’ versus, ‘All right, they’re expecting me to do X, Y and Z. And it’s a different mindset.”
The injury can serve as a reboot.
“Doesn’t matter now,” Calipari said. “He’s got some time to think about it.”
Friday
UAB at No. 9 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 5-1, UAB 4-1
Series: UAB leads 3-2
Last meeting: UAB won 79-76 on Dec. 15, 2007, at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
