Kyra Elzy’s third season of UK basketball features new-look team, same high expectations

In late March, in the aftermath of the seismic news that three Kentucky women’s basketball starters had entered their names into the NCAA transfer portal, UK head coach Kyra Elzy went on national television to set the record straight.

Elzy was scheduled to serve as an analyst on the SEC Network for NCAA Tournament coverage that weekend, but late on a Friday night, she addressed news from earlier that day that Dre’una Edwards, Treasure Hunt and Jazmine Massengill would all be leaving the UK program.

“We’re back to business as usual,” Elzy steadfastly said into a camera. “We’re on the phone talking to recruits and there are a lot of future Wildcats that are still excited about our program.”

What followed in future weeks was the finalization of Kentucky’s new-look roster for the 2022-23 season, one that will feature 10 newcomers (six freshmen and four transfers), five returnees (guards Robyn Benton, Blair Green, Emma King and Jada Walker, and forward Nyah Leveretter) and a wealth of intrigue with the season starting in just one month.

Now, more than six months removed from that TV appearance where she set the narrative for UK’s offseason, Elzy reflected on her roster-building process.

“I wanted to put my face in front (and say) that Kentucky is a special place and if you couldn’t fit the culture here, you couldn’t be here, and I was OK with that,” Elzy told the Herald-Leader during an extensive one-on-one interview Monday. “That’s why I made it a point to be on TV and let people know that Kentucky is an amazing place and we’re going to do great things. I think I ended the broadcast with ‘My phone is still ringing.’ And hint, it was.”

On paper, the task facing Elzy is daunting.

The Wildcats have lost five key players from last season’s SEC Tournament-winning team: Star guard Rhyne Howard was selected No. 1 overall in April’s WNBA Draft and earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors, while center Olivia Owens joined Edwards, Hunt and Massengill in transferring out of the program to other schools.

The losses of Edwards, Howard, Hunt and Massengill were particularly significant, as those four players accounted for the following amount of UK statistics from last season: 66.56% of points scored, 60.12% of rebounds, 68.18% of assists, 60.32% of steals, 65.75% of three-pointers made and 64.12% of blocks.

So what did Elzy prioritize when looking for new players this offseason?

“You want players that fit the culture. That means you’re a student-athlete first, obviously we want you to achieve athletically, a woman of high character,” Elzy said when listing desired attributes. “But at the end of the day, can you get on the court and produce? And there’s a style of play in which I wanted to play. That’s the blueprint of how we recruited.”

Elzy said she sent staff members a checklist outlining the qualities she wanted in future Wildcats before UK coaches spent the offseason searching for players.

“This is what I’m looking for at Kentucky. This is who I want to coach. This is who we need to coach to fit the blueprint,” Elzy, who received a contract extension this offseason, explained. “We literally went down the checklist and that’s how we signed this group of players.”

Of the 10 newcomers (in addition to a new assistant coach in Jen Hoover), four will be able to instantly bring top-end college experience to the Wildcats.

Junior guards Maddie Scherr (Kentucky’s 2020 Miss Basketball at Ryle High School who began her college career at Oregon) and Eniya Russell (South Carolina) are familiar with deep NCAA Tournament runs. Forwards junior Ajae Petty (LSU) and grad student Adebola Adeyeye (Buffalo) will provide needed post depth for UK given the news that star freshman center Tionna Herron underwent successful open-heart surgery in August.

On Monday, Elzy said there was no timetable for Herron’s basketball return this season, but Elzy added that the 6-foot-4, four-star prospect is back in Lexington after having the surgery in her home state of Texas.

Those four transfers represent the first time Elzy has brought transfers into the Kentucky program as UK’s head coach.

While Elzy acknowledged the up-and-down nature of most freshman seasons, the other five first-year players on the UK roster offer plenty of collective potential, in particular in the backcourt.

Amiya Jenkins was the 2022 Kentucky Miss Basketball selection out of Anderson County High School, Saniah Tyler had a standout prep career near St. Louis and Kennedy Cambridge is the younger sister of Jordyn Cambridge, a two-time All-SEC Defensive Team selection at Vanderbilt.

Elzy also noted that the increased roster size compared to last year (from nine healthy scholarship players last season to 14 healthy scholarship players this season) will allow the Wildcats to play more up-tempo on offense and more aggressive and pressing on defense.

Something that also should help?

A soft early-season schedule that sees Kentucky open with four straight home games against Radford, Morehead State, Coastal Carolina and Bellarmine (a combined 27-85 last season) before a Thanksgiving week tournament in the Bahamas.

“Understanding of our transition offense,” Elzy said when asked what she’d like to see from her team during early-season games. “We’ve put a lot of time, effort, energy into that.”

Even with that tame start — which follows an exhibition against the University of Pikeville on Nov. 2 — an acclimation period will be needed for the Wildcats to find common ground on the court.

“This is what’s going to be fun about coaching this team: They’re all in a role that they’ve never played before,” Elzy said. “Everybody keeps asking me, ‘What are you going to do? You don’t have a Rhyne Howard on the floor?’ Well, at some point all programs lose stellar players and they have to go on. There’s not going to be a Rhyne Howard, but (our players) can be the best that they can be, and collectively we can be a very special team.”

2022-23 Kentucky women’s basketball schedule

Home games in all capital letters. Remaining tip-off times and TV assignments to be announced later.

Nov. 2: x-PIKEVILLE, 7 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Nov. 7: RADFORD, 7 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Nov. 11: MOREHEAD STATE, 6 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Nov. 13: COASTAL CAROLINA, 1 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Nov. 17: BELLARMINE, 7 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Nov. 21: 1-Virginia Tech, Noon (FloHoops.com)

Nov. 23: 1-Dayton, 4:30 p.m. (FloHoops.com)

Dec. 4: UNC GREENSBORO, 1 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Dec. 7: At Minnesota

Dec. 11: 2-LOUISVILLE, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Dec. 16: MURRAY STATE, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Dec. 18: FLORIDA GULF COAST, 1 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Dec. 21: OHIO, 11 a.m. (SEC Plus)

Dec. 29: At Missouri, 9 p.m. (SEC)

Jan. 1: ARKANSAS, 2 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Jan. 5: At Georgia, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Jan. 8: 2-LSU, 2 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Jan. 12: SOUTH CAROLINA, 7 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Jan. 15: At Florida, 3 p.m. (SEC)

Jan. 22: At Mississippi State, 1 p.m. (SEC)

Jan. 26: AUBURN, 7 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Jan. 29: MISSOURI, 3 p.m. (SEC)

Feb. 2: At South Carolina, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Feb. 9: ALABAMA, 7 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Feb. 13: At Mississippi, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Feb. 16: GEORGIA, 7 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Feb. 19: At Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. (SEC Plus)

Feb. 23: At Texas A&M, 7 p.m. (SEC)

Feb. 26: TENNESSEE, 2 p.m. (SEC)

March 1-5: 3-SEC Tournament

x-Exhibition game; 1-Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship at Nassau, Bahamas; 2-Rupp Arena; 3-At Greenville, S.C.