Kentucky Guard Ashton Hagans Skips Trip to Play Florida for ‘Personal Reasons’

Kentucky will look to rebound from an ugly loss at home to a middling Tennessee team when they lock horns with Florida in Gainesville on Saturday afternoon.

Well, that task has become much more demanding, as Wildcats head coach John Calipari revealed star guard Ashton Hagans has stepped away from the team for a few days for "personal reasons."

We cannot confirm why Hagans is taking a hiatus from the Wildcats, but it's worth noting that the sophomore slasher was involved in a heated confrontation with freshman big man Nick Richards against the Volunteers.

Hagans even exchanged verbal barbs with Calipari on the bench about his reported refusal to enter the game down the stretch in the second half. Again, we do not know if the young star being ruled out against Florida stems back to that mishap.

Whatever the case, it appears to be all love between Calipari and Hagans, as the latter tweeted out a vote of confidence in his teammates to take care of business against the Gators.

Kentucky should do just that, but Hagans' absence will certainly be felt. For the season, the Georgia native is averaging 11.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Without him, expect fellow backcourt standouts Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley to cause headaches for the Gators.