Another day, another departure. UK’s second-leading women’s basketball scorer to transfer.
Suddenly, Kentucky women’s basketball is faced with an all-too-familiar scenario.
A year ago, following the conclusion of the Wildcats’ season, UK dealt with several key players announcing their entry into the transfer portal.
Now, just a week removed from UK’s first-round win over Florida in the 2023 SEC Tournament and three days since freshman Kennedy Cambridge’s transfer announcement, starting guard and second-leading scorer Jada Walker has declared that she will be entering her name in the transfer portal.
Walker, one of only five returners from the Wildcats’ 2021-22 roster, started all 31 games for UK this season.
In UK’s second-round victory in this year’s SEC Tournament last Thursday against Alabama, Walker stepped up and delivered one of the finest performances of her career, recording a career-high 24 points and a career high-tying six steals.
In her transfer announcement tweet, the Richmond, Va., native thanked head coach Kyra Elzy and the coaching staff for the opportunity. She also cited her appreciation for the chance to be a part of the 2022 SEC Tournament title run, the program’s second ever and first since 1982.
She also thanked her teammates and family before voicing gratitude for the fan base, “I would also like to give a big shout out to Big Blue Nation for their love and support. I will always cherish my time as a Wildcat!”
Walker’s impact
Walker committed to the Wildcats in May 2020 as a four-star point guard, UK’s first commitment in the 2021 cycle. The guard chose Kentucky over Arizona, Michigan, Mississippi State and North Carolina State, but was courted by many more.
When No. 1 South Carolina came to Lexington on Jan. 12, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley praised Walker’s talent. “The little one,” Staley laughed in the postgame. “... She’s got a big heart. I remember recruiting her, but she’s found a great place here at Kentucky where she’s able to just play her game. She really is a beauty to watch. Fearless.”
During her two seasons with UK, Walker was repeatedly referred to by Elzy as a “dog” and a “difference maker” for the Wildcats. She earned her way into the starting lineup in January of her freshman year. She was also voted to the All-SEC Freshman Team by league coaches.
Walker averaged 27.6 minutes a game over the course of her UK career, wreaking havoc on defense.
This season, Walker led the SEC in steals per game with 2.6. She also averaged 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 41.6% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc.
Uncertain times
UK finished the 2022-23 season tied for dead-last in the Southeastern Conference, with a regular season league record of 2-14. The Wildcats ended the disappointing year with a 12-19 overall record and plenty of questions.
“I’m a better coach because of (the difficult season),” Elzy said during her radio show ahead of the SEC Tournament. “I’ve had to be in the trenches under scrutiny, under a microscope. But it reinforces, ‘built to last,’ just like this program. And we’ll all learn so much, and we’ll be better because of it.”
The Wildcats, who currently have only one signee in the high school class of 2023 in four-star wing Jordy Griggs from Montverde (Fla.) Academy, will need to find additional players to reload the roster for the 2023-24 season.
Junior forward Nyah Leveretter was ruled out for the remainder of the season following a torn ACL during Kentucky’s 79-57 loss to Vanderbilt on Feb. 19.
Fifth-year seniors Adebola Adeyeye, Robyn Benton and Blair Green were honored on Senior Day prior to the final home game of the regular season, the Feb. 26 loss to Tennessee.
Both Adeyeye and Benton used their extra year of eligibility granted to them by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Green has yet to announce whether or not she will be returning for her sixth year, which would serve as either her COVID year or an additional year of eligibility due to her sitting out the 2021-22 season with a ruptured Achilles.
The program announced Tuesday that senior Emma King will return next season for her fifth year.
After the departures of Walker, Cambridge, Adeyeye and Benton, the Wildcats’ roster currently stands at 11 players: Green, King, juniors Leveretter, Ajae Petty, Eniya Russell and Maddie Scherr, and freshmen Tionna Herron, Amiyah Jenkins, Cassidy Rowe, Zennia Thomas and Saniah Tyler.
Leveretter will almost certainly miss the start of next season after suffering her injury late this season. Herron did not play this season after undergoing open heart surgery last fall, and her status is undetermined.