KNOXVILLE – Devon Baulkman exited Rupp Arena late Thursday night with his left arm in a sling, but it’s unclear if the troublesome shoulder the Tennessee guard injured against Kentucky will keep him out of today’s game against LSU.
The senior crumpled to the floor underneath the basket after fighting for a rebound during the second half of Tennessee’s 80-70 loss to the 14th-ranked Wildcats and went straight to the locker room.
He underwent X-rays before the Volunteers (12-14, 5-8 Southeastern Conference) returned to Knoxville less than 48 hours before facing the Tigers (16-10, 9-4).
“Terrible,” leading scorer Kevin Punter Jr. said of seeing Baulkman hurt. “He’s been dealing with that since last year. Once I saw him stuck, and he was reaching at his shoulder in pain, I already knew his shoulder popped again. I can’t tell you how many times since I’ve met him his shoulder has popped out.”
The dislocations have been a recurring problem for Baulkman during his two-year Tennessee career. He elected not to have surgery this past offseason and wears a brace during games and practices, and the only game he has missed as a result of the shoulder was Tennessee’s 2014-15 season opener.
Baulkman is fourth on the team in scoring and minutes played, and he and Punter are the only two Vols to start all 26 games this season.
“It’s tough, especially to see a senior and a veteran guy go down, but I’m pretty sure he’ll get it worked on,” Armani Moore said. “It won’t keep him out of the next game. It’s just a minor problem for him.”
If Baulkman doesn’t play, Tennessee would have to start its eighth different lineup of the season.
Freshmen Kyle Alexander and Shembari Phillips have solidified their starting roles alongside Moore and Punter, and the Vols could insert Robert Hubbs III, Detrick Mostella or Admiral Schofield into Baulkman’s slot.
“You’ve got to be excited about what Shembari’s doing,” first-year Vols coach Rick Barnes said. “I think Detrick can do some of that. Our team, we’re so interchangeable, whether we put Hubbs out there at the (wing) or Admiral. We can interchange them. We can overcome that right there.
“The problem,” he then deadpanned, “is when we lose our 7-footers.”
If Baulkman is on the court, he won’t be the only Vol playing through pain.
Punter, who’s dealing with an ankle problem, hobbled out of the locker room after Thursday’s loss. He said he’s not sure what the injury is, but he said his ankle started hurting during pregame warmups. Punter couldn’t recall spraining it.
“It’s a little sore right now,” Moore said Thursday, “but I’m pretty sure he’ll be in the training room with (head trainer) Chad (Newman) tomorrow getting it worked on. I don’t think it’s anything major to keep him out of the next game.”
Tennessee delayed the blowout many were expecting until early in the second half, when Kentucky scored 10 unanswered points in 58 seconds to blast open an eight-point game.
The Wildcats finished with 11 3-pointers, including seven in the second half.
“We still made too many (bad) plays at the wrong time to let it get away from us,” Barnes said. “They hit some timely 3s when we kept telling our guys we’re two possessions, two stops away from making them a little uncomfortable. But they went down and made the plays they needed to make.”
Now the Vols must navigate a quick turnaround to face LSU and superstar freshman Ben Simmons, and they may have to do so without one of their veteran players.
“It doesn’t put any more pressure on us,” Moore said in regard to himself and Punter. “I just think as a team we’ve just got to really make up for what Baulkman does. That’s offensive rebounding, taking good shots.
“I think we’ve got a lot of guys (that can). Shembari’s been really stepping up these last couple of weeks. I think he can help out with some of that role that Baulkman has been playing.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.