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The Louisville Cardinals could really use Mikel Brown Jr. back on the court.
But his back injury makes his status for playing against Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 on Saturday a real question mark.
Brown hasn't played since Feb. 28, and he watched Thursday's Louisville win over South Florida with a wrap around his lower back during the first half that he appeared to ditch during the second half.
His energy was up, encouraging his teammates and greeting them during stoppages, but that's a long way off from what Brown would like to do.
This season, Brown has averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists per game.
Before Louisville played this week, head coach Pat Kelsey gave some insight into Brown's health.
"Yeah, our people, our medical people handle -- they did everything in their power over the last couple weeks and especially these last several days since the ACC Tournament with the hope of playing this weekend, and we're just not there," Kelsey said, via official NCAA transcripts. "The health and well-being of our players is first and foremost. During the recruiting process, this was one of the things Kel talked about all the time is the opportunity to play in March Madness under these really big lights, and he wants to play really bad. He's just not there physically right now."
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Kelsey almost sounded a bit annoyed when he talked about it.
"Yeah, the unfortunate thing is those guys in the locker room right now are answering questions about that instead of their experience of playing in the national tournament," Kelsey said. "Kel is a big part of our team, and he's a beloved member of our team, and he's a beloved teammate. He's got very, very close friends in that locker room. It's just unfortunate he's not able to play. There's been a big chunk of the season when he wasn't able to play, as well, and I'm really proud of our guys for adjusting and stepping up."
Louisville, the 6-seed, will have to be at its best to beat the 3-seed Michigan State on Saturday.
The easiest way for the Cardinals to be at their best is to get Brown back on the floor. If that doesn't happen, everything will be a bit tougher.
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