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Mark Pope commends Lamont Butler on playing through shoulder injury: ‘Courage is real’
By Mark Kern
Published:
Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are on to the Sweet 16 after they knocked off Illinois, 84-75, on Sunday night. In March it is all about surviving and advancing, doing whatever is needed to win the game.
That may include having to battle through an injury, and Lamont Butler is having to do just that for the Wildcats. He has been playing through a shoulder injury.
During his postgame press conference, Pope made sure to give his star guard a shoutout for the courage he is showing.
“Courage is real, But so is love,” Pope said. “And he absolutely loves his teammates and is playing for them.”
Butler finished the game with 14 points, hitting some clutch free throws down the stretch to help the Wildcats get the win.
He originally sustained the injury in mid-January, and he missed 6 consecutive games over the course of SEC play. Then, during the game against Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament, he sustained another injury to the same shoulder.
It is truly win-or-go-home time, but this is when players can be come legends. For Butler, he is winning the hearts of Big Blue Nation as he is gutting it out to help the team win.
Butler will looking to show that courage in the Sweet 16 when the Wildcats take on SEC rival Tennessee. The 2 teams have played twice this year, with the Wildcats winning both of those games. Butler missed the first matchup against the Volunteers, while scoring 6 points in the other matchup.
