It is clear that Andrew Carr is not playing at 100% right now, as he is still dealing with a back injury. Injuries like this can be challenging to deal with as players can play through them, but it affects foot speed and athleticism, which has been seen with the play of Carr.

The 6’11 power forward is the most clutch player this Kentucky team has, which he proved in the team’s big wins over Duke and Gonzaga, which is why Mark Pope needs his veteran forward playing as close as possible to 100% when March comes around.

Kentucky will, of course, need Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler healthy when the NCAA Tournament comes around, but Carr has the making of a March Madness hero in Lexington.

Hopefully, he can use this next month to get healthy, and if he isn’t getting all that much better, he can use it to learn how to play through this injury. Recently, Carr told the press he hasn’t dealt with a back injury before, so he is learning how to manage it.

Big Blue Nation just needs to hope that Carr is able to get closer to 100%, as the SEC Tournament is less than a month away. If Kentucky is going to make a run in March, they will need a healthy Carr to drive to a Final Four.

It would also be great to see Carr have a solid showing against Vanderbilt, knowing the team will likely be playing without Robinson and Butler on Wednesday.