Mark Pope delivers a Kentucky basketball injury update during radio show
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- UK basketball coach Mark Pope hosted his first radio show of the 2025-26 season.
- Pope delivered injury updates on three UK basketball players.
- Kentucky next plays against Tennessee Tech on Wednesday night.
Mark Pope hosted his first weekly radio show of the 2025-26 season Monday night, and the UK basketball coach had plenty to discuss when it came to his team’s health.
Currently, three Wildcats are on the mend from injuries. Junior guard Jaland Lowe and forwards sophomore Jayden Quaintance and junior Mouhamed Dioubate all missed UK’s most recent game — an 88-46 home triumph over Loyola (Maryland) on Friday night — with various injuries.
Lowe is dealing with a right shoulder injury that first occurred during the preseason before flaring back up earlier this month during a team practice. Despite being projected in the offseason as UK’s starting point guard, Lowe has only played in two games for the Cats, and both saw him come off the bench as a reserve.
Dioubate suffered an ankle injury near the end of Kentucky’s lopsided loss to Michigan State last week in the Champions Classic in New York City. He didn’t play in Friday’s win over Loyola.
Quaintance has been on the shelf since the end of last season when he tore his ACL while playing for Arizona State. A projected lottery pick in next summer’s NBA draft, Quaintance still hasn’t been cleared for 5-on-5 practice.
During his radio show Monday, Pope touched on the status of all three players.
Starting with Lowe, Pope described his recovery timeline as a day-by-day process.
“Jaland Lowe was on the court (Monday) in non-contact skill work,” Pope said. “He’s making progress, which is really exciting... It was good to see him, not just in the skill work, but also out there coaching, which is going to be a really important part of what he does when he’s playing on the floor and in practice. So, we’re trying to give him more and more responsibility, but he’s doing well.”
On Dioubate, Pope shared that the Alabama transfer also took on a coaching role during UK’s practice on Monday, which Pope said lasted nearly three hours.
Pope added that this was the longest practice of the season so far.
“He coached and shot free throws,” Pope said of Dioubate. “We tested him (Sunday night). He’s still got a ways to go. But he was at practice participating, as much as he could.”
Lastly, Pope addressed Quaintance, who is still looking to make his Kentucky debut. During his postgame radio show Friday night after the Loyola game, Pope gave some insight on the steps Quaintance is taking toward being cleared for live practice sessions.
And things are continuing to trend in the right direction.
Pope said Quaintance took part in 3-on-3 drills Monday that focused on post moves around the basket. Pope added that “there’s still a safety protocol” anytime Quaintance is doing “any type of almost-live action.”
“He’s making steady progress.” Pope added, noting that this was the first time Quaintance had taken part in 3-on-3 drills.
Kentucky’s next game is against Tennessee Tech on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM.
