Three key storylines to know ahead of the new Kentucky women’s basketball season
With less than a month to go until a new-look Kentucky women’s basketball team takes the court, plenty of intrigue continues to follow head coach Kyra Elzy ahead of her third season leading the program.
Gone are legendary guard and newly minted WNBA Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard, along with four key players — Dre’una Edwards, Treasure Hunt, Jazmine Massengill and Olivia Owens — from UK’s 2021-22 SEC Tournament winning team who transferred out of the program.
In are 10 newcomers (six freshmen and four transfers) who join five returnees (Robyn Benton, Blair Green, Emma King, Nyah Leveretter and Jada Walker) aiming to continue the momentum that Elzy’s program built in March in Nashville, which was followed by a first-round NCAA Tournament exit.
With a 40-minute, one-on-one interview between Elzy and the Herald-Leader earlier this week and media day for the UK women’s basketball team on Wednesday, there is plenty to discuss about the 2022-23 Wildcats.
Here are three key storylines to follow ahead of UK’s season opener against Radford on Nov. 7.
Jada Walker’s progression as a sophomore
Last season, point guard Jada Walker shined as the lone scholarship freshman on the Kentucky team.
Walker was one of two players — along with Howard — to play in all 31 games and remained effective for the Wildcats through the typical highs and lows that a freshman experiences during their debut season.
Her 2021-22 season-ending stats and their corresponding rank on the UK team served as evidence of her current promise and future potential: 47 steals (second), 64 assists (third), 10.4 points per game (third), 35.5% of three-pointers made (third) and 27 minutes played per game (fourth).
The offseason departures of key players (Edwards, Howard, Hunt and Massengill) mean that Walker is now UK’s leading returner in several statistical categories.
So, in what areas should Walker be expected to improve in during her sophomore season?
“Vocal leadership. She always led by example, but vocal leadership,” Elzy told the Herald-Leader on Monday. “Just forcing her out of her comfort zone to be vocal, that’s been a big change for her. And also understanding time and score: When I score, when I create for others, what should we be running now. She’s really worked on that all summer.”
“Really just pacing myself, knowing when to go fast, when to go slow, on and off the court,” Walker said at UK’s media day about what she learned from her freshman season. “My brain is running a million miles a minute. I’m learning different things, I’m also teaching different things to young people, so I’m in the middle of both worlds. So really just balancing myself, knowing what to do and what not to do.”
In addition to a more vocal presence from UK’s point guard, Elzy has also been encouraged by the on-court relationship formed between Walker and junior guard Maddie Scherr, a transfer from Oregon and a former Kentucky Miss Basketball at Ryle High School.
Elzy expects Scherr to play as combo guard for the Cats, and noted the differing, yet complimentary, playing styles offered by Walker and Scherr.
“Jada’s going to drive you down and score, slice, do it quickly. Where Maddie’s more ‘I’m going to pick apart the defense. I’m going to wait until you make a mistake, and then I’m going to make you pay,’” Elzy explained on Monday. “Both very effective, different styles.”
New-look frontcourt to offer more depth
Kentucky’s lack of depth across all positions, but particularly in the frontcourt, was one of its most limiting factors last season.
The offseason transfer of the tallest player from last season’s roster (Olivia Owens to Syracuse) and the news that prized recruit Tionna Herron has no timetable to return following successful open-heart surgery in August means that, once again, UK will begin the 2022-23 season at less than full strength in the frontcourt.
But there’s already more depth on this season’s team compared to last season’s.
Junior forward Nyah Leveretter took a significant step forward last season in terms of game action and productivity (17 minutes per game with 11 starts).
The arrival of three other newcomers at the forward spot (Ajae Petty from LSU, Adebola Adeyeye from Buffalo and freshman Zennia Thomas) means UK will have several options in the frontcourt compared to last season, when Howard and Hunt often played in the post as oversize guards.
“Those are four different types of posts. Where Nyah and Addie (Adeyeye) are more finesse, athletic. Ajae Petty is strong, she can finish in the paint, but she’s also very agile for her size, can rebound. Then Z (Thomas) is a freshman post that’s still learning behind those veterans. She’s learning and getting better every day, but she has great feel, great touch,” Elzy told the Herald-Leader. “We’ll use them in different roles and capacities of course, but they all bring something different.”
UK’s new plan for offensive, defensive playing styles
In large part thanks to an increase in depth in both the backcourt and frontcourt (UK currently has 14 healthy scholarship players compared to just nine health scholarship players last season), the Wildcats will be able to play more like Elzy wants them to this season.
What will this look like?
Elzy told the Herald-Leader it would be more up-tempo on offense (UK already ranked 40th in the nation in points per game last season) and more pressure on defense.
“I wanted to run last year, but we could only run in spots because we only had X amount of players. I wanted to turn up the defensive pressure, and when we did we were really good, but we couldn’t sustain it because we didn’t have the depth,” Elzy explained. “But this year we do have the depth, and also competition brings out the best in people.”
UK’s leading returning three-point shooter is Benton, who made 37.3% of her shots from distance last season.
What has she noticed about UK’s up-tempo offense in practices so far?
“I love playing in transition, I feel like every player does,” Benton said Wednesday at media day, referencing the success she enjoyed during last season’s SEC Tournament run.
Additionally, having three experienced post players to begin the season in Adeyeye, Leveretter and Petty will give the Wildcats more versatility on defense.
“It allows us to extend our defense, and keep fresh bodies on the floor when you have to bang down low and keep us fresh for rebounding,” Elzy said. “Being able to rotate those posts and give them a breather makes a big difference, and how we play the ball screens as well.”
Something to watch for in early-season games will be the impact that having more frontcourt depth has on UK’s rebounding at both ends of the court.
UK ranked 187th in the country last season in rebounding margin, as the Cats were outrebounded by an average of 0.2 rebounds per game.
