‘She has made a transformation.’ UK’s Ajae Petty poised to make a leap in senior season.
Upon the conclusion of a disappointing 2022-23 season — which the Kentucky women’s basketball team’s staff and players agreed was not what they wanted it to be — head coach Kyra Elzy had several “tough conversations” with her roster.
“We have to be willing to do the things it takes to win, and being close is not good enough,” Elzy said. “We talked about we don’t know what play it’s going to be to get us over the hump to win. Whether it’s a box out, whether it’s a defensive stop, whether it’s that made layup or free throw. So just being intentional about every detail matters. Every play matters and every possession matters.”
At UK’s media day, Elzy specifically cited one of those difficult conversations with emerging leader Ajae Petty.
Petty, a Baltimore native who arrived in Lexington via the transfer portal after two seasons at LSU, averaged 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest last season. She did not start a game last season. In fact, she hasn’t started in a game since high school. But she has seen an increase in responsibility every single year, and the 2023-24 season will be no different.
Many of the players and coaches will tell you that Petty’s time is now. That she’s faster and stronger than ever before. That she had her best offseason to date.
“She has made a transformation,” Elzy said. “Mind and body, really committed. We had a tough conversation at the end of last year and what I can appreciate about her, she embraced it and she took it and ran with it. She looks like a different person on the floor. She can sprint up and down the court. She committed to getting in shape, she committed to eating right. And also mindset. It’s not an attack, it’s we’re trying to push her to be better.”
So what was said in that postseason conversation? What sparked this shift?
According to the 6-3 senior, the difficult conversation allowed her to identify that, if this team is going to be successful, her strengths and leadership will play a key role.
“I think I’m not so surprised about what it is that Coach Elzy expects of me,” Petty said. “You know, coming from a different program, they want different things from each player. So coming in, I was kinda like, I didn’t know where I kind of stood and what I needed to do in order to help the team. But going home and having that conversation, Coach Elzy allowed me to kind of see what it is that she actually needs from me.”
At media day, Elzy said she needs dominant post presence and strong, inside-out basketball. For the Wildcats, it’s a common point of discussion. Particularly entering this season, when the Wildcats’ frontcourt isn’t as experienced, or even entirely healthy.
Nyah Leveretter, last season’s consistent starter, is still recovering from her spring ACL surgery. Incoming freshmen Jordy Griggs and Janaé Walker are still learning the ropes. Now-sophomore Zennia Thomas averaged just 4.5 minutes over the course of 10 games last season. Not only will Petty have to step in and be the star forward, but she’ll also need to be a leader.
“I think I’ve just taken it on by just continuing to do what I can,” Petty said. “I don’t think it’s been anything that I’ve kind of tried to force myself into. It’s just been, just be grateful for what it is that you have. Put your head down and work and people follow along with that.”
But, regardless of depth, Petty’s goals — both for herself and for the team — remain the same.
“Team and individually, just come in and give the best that we can every single night,” Petty said. “Like not taking no plays off, not taking no games off. Just being very grateful for what it is that we have.”
