The UK men’s basketball program lost more than a game during its visit Gainesville, FL. to take on the Florida Gators.
According to a UK Athletics news release, midway through the second half of UK’s 69-52 defeat at the hands of the Gators freshman center Nerlens Noel tore his ACL, ending his season.
Noel was leading the nation in blocked shots (106) and blocks per game (4.4) and was second in the SEC in rebounds per game (9.5).
UK head men’s basketball coach John Calipari released a statement to UK Athletics Tuesday afternoon regarding Noel’s injury:
“I’ve been coaching for 22 years and this is the first injury we’ve had of this kind during the season, which makes it even more devastating,” Calipari said. “I met with Nerlens earlier today. The meeting was really positive, and I loved his attitude. The way he is already dealing with this injury lets me know that he is going to come back stronger than ever. The good news is he is insured, so he would have been fine even if the injury would have been worse. Obviously this is not a career-ending injury and it’s one that athletes bounce back from all the time.”
The Cats will play their first game without Noel on Saturday when they travel to take on Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, TN. The game is scheduled to tip off from Thompson-Boling Arena at 1 p.m. ET, and will be televised nationally on CBS.