The five storylines that could define Kentucky’s 2016-17 women’s basketball season

So many of the storylines surrounding Kentucky this season will involve the players the Cats no longer have.

To say that last season was a season of transition would be an understatement of massive proportions.

The stats are staggering: Seven players parted ways with Kentucky, including five transfers, one graduate transfer and a player who was dismissed. The 2016 signees all opted out of their national letters of intent.

Three assistant coaches went separate ways with two opting not to renew their contracts and another being fired.

“It's time now for us to really get excited and get focused on the players who have shown a tremendous commitment to our program and are working so hard and are so excited to go to practice with every day,” Coach Matthew Mitchell said in late October.

There are five players back from last season’s 25-8 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in guards Makayla Epps, Maci Morris and Taylor Murray and forwards Evelyn Akhator and Alyssa Rice.

Kentucky also will get help from Cincinnati transfer Makenzie Cann, a former star guard at Anderson County, who sat out last season per NCAA rules.

True freshman guard Jaida Roper, who signed late, as well as guard Jessica Hardin, a walk-on who later was given a scholarship, should provide additional depth.

“Even though we use terms like returners and newcomers, it’s like one big group,” Roper said of the meshing of the core six and the newcomers. “We came in, they opened their arms and we’re just one big team.”

Who can help?

Assuming that the five returners, Cann and Roper all will see significant playing time, that historically has been more than enough to build a solid team around.

Epps is one of the top guards in the country and Akhator is one of the best post players in the Southeastern Conference.

UK has started with less, reminds former Cats guard Amber Smith, now a member of the support staff, who played on that short-benched 2010 team that began Kentucky’s long run of NCAA Tournament appearances.

As for the newcomers, Hardin has surprised the staff with her skills and quickness. If the former Bellarmine player can knock off the rust, she would provide some solid depth and is a weapon outside.

It’s still unclear how much the other new faces, which include guard Rachel Potter, forward LaShae Halsel and guard Paige Poffenberger, the latter two who came to UK via the open tryout, will contribute.

“Some of these newcomers that don't have a lot of experience are really intelligent, work really hard, understand where they are supposed to be, very coachable, and so that gives them a chance to make an impact,” Mitchell said.

A big deal?

The biggest question mark going into this season would have to be at the post position.

The Cats were decimated by departures down low this offseason, including the transfers of key contributors like Alexis Jennings (10 points, 7.1 rebounds), who went to league rival South Carolina, and Batouly Camara (5.1, 4.3), who left to play for Connecticut.

So UK is left with forwards Akhator (11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds) and Rice (2.4 points, 2.3 rebounds) to carry most of the load in the post.

While Mitchell wasn’t giving anything away, it seems likely that the coach and his staff will go with a four-guard lineup that can get the ball up and down the court. Akhator is fast enough to run in that scenario, but it will be interesting to see if UK is willing to play a fast pace with so little proven depth.

Another big question is how UK will rebound against bigger teams like defending league champion South Carolina.

Forty minutes? Slow and steady?

That 2010 team started what eventually became the core of the “40 minutes of dread” aggressive defensive philosophy that helped UK become an NCAA Tournament regular.

This season’s team is similar in stature and speed, but probably has more base talent in the post and better overall shooters than that team. But with so few bodies to run in and out, can it sustain that pace of play for a full 40 minutes?

The short answer is, UK still hasn’t figured out what it’s defensive identity will be and Mitchell isn’t in a hurry to put a specific tag on this group, which seems most comfortable at a higher pace.

“I don’t anticipate we’ll be real vanilla on defense,” he said. “We’ll have to be sort of a multiple defense and there will have to be some confusion that will be caused by some pressing and some trapping and go from there.”

Postseason possibilities?

There are plenty of people who saw the headlines about the exits and wondered if this will be the end of UK’s seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Epps, for one, is glad people are saying that. “People are asleep on us. They’re asleep on Kentucky, think our run is over. We know it’s not.”

With so much parity this season, UK has the talent to advance deep into March and is a Top 25 team to open the season.

Where it will be at the end of the season depends on if the Cats can stay healthy. One significant injury could be the difference between the NCAA Tournament and the WNIT.

There’s quite the carrot at the end of the road for UK, though. If the Cats can earn a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament they have the chance to host postseason games again in Memorial Coliseum and a regional in Rupp Arena.

A settled staff?

It’s no secret that Kentucky’s head coach has had problems with staff cohesiveness. Through new jobs, attrition or dismissals, UK has had eight different assistant coaches in the past three seasons.

He hoped that hiring familiar faces including former Cats assistants Kyra Elzy and Niya Butts as well as retired Hall of Fame coach Lin Dunn, who served as a team consultant, would lead to some comfort.

That seems to have worked. Elzy and Butts, close friends and former teammates at Tennessee, both signed to two-year deals with Kentucky, and Dunn has been a steadying force overall.

In several interviews, Mitchell seemed pleased with how the staff has meshed. UK has gotten a couple of key commitments for the future and things seem on course again.

This story was originally published November 6, 2016 at 1:05 AM with the headline "The five storylines that could define Kentucky’s 2016-17 women’s basketball season."