Kentucky coach Mark Pope led the No. 9 Wildcats to a 77-51 win over the Nicholls State Colonels on Tuesday evening. An ankle injury to sophomore forward Trent Noah marred the win in the first half, forcing him to be helped to the locker room.
There was cause for optimism after Noah warmed up on the sidelines for the second half, despite not returning to what turned out to be a comfortable win for the Wildcats. Before he left the game, the Kentucky forward had registered two rebounds and one steal.
Mark Pope Shocked by Trent Noah’s Post-Injury Reaction
During his postgame news conference, Pope was shocked by Noah’s reaction after his serious injury.
“I was like, ‘That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,'” Mark Pope said. “Trent’s the toughest dude I know. He was in a lot of pain on the floor, and he doesn’t ever show that.”
Pope further revealed that he kept Noah out of the game despite Kentucky’s head athletics trainer, Brandon Wells, assuring him that the forward was ready to re-enter the game.
“I’m like, ‘Brandon, is he ready to go?'” Pope said. “(Wells is) like, ‘Yeah, we just tested him. He cut. He ran. He said he’s feeling fine.’ And my direct quote was like, ‘Well, Trent Noah is a liar.’ I think I yelled it probably louder than I should’ve. I’m glad we were able to get through the game and not have to put him back in. We’ve got to get him healthy, because he’s an important part of this team.”
Pope further confirmed that Jaland Lowe could make his comeback from a partially dislocated shoulder on Friday when Kentucky plays the Valparaiso Crusaders.
Noah Is Kentucky’s Best Shooting Threat
During media availability last week, Pope confirmed that Noah had been the Wildcats’ best shooter in practice after he won the Big Blue Madness 3-point shooting contest and also hit two three-pointers during the Blue and White game.
“I think it really is, statistically, going in almost every time,” Pope said. “He’s got incredible physicality around the ball where he can protect it. And he runs hard. He’s clearly just a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous shooter. He’s a vet that knows exactly who he is. He just brings this calm to our team. I think he’s going to bail us out of situations like Koby did last year.”
Last season, Noah tallied 2.7 points on 45.1% shooting from the floor and 33.3% shooting from beyond the arc, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists for the Wildcats in 24 games.