Kentucky basketball: Will Ashton Hagans be back for SEC Tournament?

Kentucky point guard Ashton Hagans didn’t travel to Gainesville for the team’s season finale but will he be back with the Wildcats for the SEC Tournament?

The Kentucky Wildcats had nothing on the line in the SEC as they traveled to Gainesville for their regular-season finale against the Florida Gators. All that was on the line was maintaining their shot at a No. 1 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. They kept those hopes alive with a victory but they did so without sophomore point guard Ashton Hagans.

Hagans didn’t travel with the team for the March 7 game against Florida, citing personal reasons. Head coach John Calipari said after the win over the Gators that Hagans was “in a bad way” before the decision was made for him not to travel with the rest of the Kentucky basketball team.

The win over Florida gave the Wildcats a three-game lead in the final SEC standings, meaning they’ll be the No. 1 seed in the 2020 SEC Tournament, which tips off on Wednesday. However, as the top seed, Kentucky won’t play until Friday, March 13. And the question is whether Hagans will be suiting up.

In speaking about Hagans’ absence on Saturday after the victory, Calipari stated, after saying that the mental health of his players was their foremost concern, that he fully expected the sophomore guard to be back for the SEC Tournament. Of course, things can change.

While Hagans has been just the fourth-leading scorer for the Wildcats this season at 11.5 points per game, he’s been a key cog in their success. Not only is he one of the fiercest perimeter defenders in college basketball but he’s been a terrific facilitator, leading Kentucky at 6.4 assists per game.

Though Calipari expects him to return for the SEC Tournament, the Wildcats would likely turn to Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey to split the point guard duties if Hagans was unable to rejoin the team by Friday.

Calipari is 100 percent correct in that the mental health of his players comes first. But if Kentucky basketball wants to make a run at a No. 1 seed in March Madness by winning the SEC Tournament, that will be easier to come by if Ashton Hagans is one the floor.

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