Nerlens Noel has been one of the best players in the country and is the likely number one pick in the NBA draft, but his first college basketball season is in jeopardy after suffering a knee injury on Tuesday night.
Noel was injured on a hustle play in Kentucky's 69-52 loss against seventh-ranked Florida, crashing into the basket support after chasing down Mike Rosario to block a shot. Noel was helped off the court in the second half after making the block on Rosario, then landing awkwardly on his left knee before hitting the basket area.
"I didn't see much," Kentucky coach John Calipari said to the AP. "They said it looked ugly, so I don't know. We'll have to see."
Noel left the arena in a wheelchair and the school said that he would fly back with the team and will have further testing. Right after the injury, Noel screamed in pain and trainers and players surrounding him and helped him off the court.
"He was yelling and screaming, so that's why I stayed [with him on the floor]," Calipari said. "But it's unfortunate and I just hope and pray that he's OK, but we're going to see."
The game marked the first time Kentucky was back in the Top 25 after falling out of it earlier this year, but the loss of Noel and the game might keep them out of the list for a while.
"His leg was wobbly, knee looked dislocated," Florida center Patric Young told the Palm Beach Post. "It was gruesome. I don't want to think about it."
Noel would be a huge loss for the Wildcats, who are trying to ensure their trip to the NCAA tournament to defend their national title from last year. Losing Noel would be a huge blow to that, as he was leading the nation in blocked shots with 4.5 per game while averaging 10.6 points. He is also ranked second in the SEC in rebounding with 9.6 per game.
Kentucky made the game close to single digits before Noel was hurt and then Florida took off.
"Obviously, he's a big part of our team so to see him go down is a reminder [of how important he is]," Kentucky guard Julius Mays said. "It hurts us because he is a big guy and he makes the game different."
The recovery period could be long and there is a chance that he could miss the rest of the season before leaving school to enter the NBA draft, which he is expected to do.
"I'm physically sick right now," Calipari said. "What I'm hoping is it's not the extreme. I'm hoping it's some sort of twist but we don't know."
