‘Progress over perfection’: Checking in on Kentucky women’s basketball’s freshman class

Following last season’s magical SEC Tournament championship run, Kentucky signed six freshmen to the roster ahead of this 2022-23 women’s basketball campaign.

Only five players from last season — Robyn Benton, Blair Green, Emma King, Nyah Leveretter and Jada Walker — returned for another year. The coaching staff was tasked with not only replacing impact players, but also reinvigorating a roster that would no longer have superstar Rhyne Howard leading the way.

“We’re asking 15 new people to play a role they’ve never played before,” UK head coach Kyra Elzy said on her radio show on Feb. 1. “Even the five that we had return to Kentucky, a year ago they were not in the role that they are in now. So, it is a growth process.

“We have six talented freshmen. Here it is, almost February, and it still has taken us up to this point to get them up to speed. There is nothing like experience until you get experience. But they’re talented, and they will explode at different times for us. And our future is bright, but it is a journey. Progress over perfection. That’s what I remind myself often.”

Kennedy Cambridge, Tionna Herron, Amiya Jenkins, Cassidy Rowe, Zennia Thomas and Saniah Tyler were chosen to represent the next generation of Wildcats. To be the future of UK women’s basketball in an era that’s seen so much change.

All but Herron, who is recovering from open-heart surgery, have had opportunities to step up. And though none of them have cracked the starting lineup, each has found a way to make a difference while developing at the next level.

“All of [the freshmen] don’t play,” UK assistant coach Amber Smith told the Herald-Leader. “We have six of ‘em. It is tough when you’ve been the superstar in high school, and you’re used to being the best player, to ‘I might be 12th-best, 13th-best. It might just be some people ahead of me that are going to play.’”

Smith is pleased with the attitude maintained by the freshman class.

“I think what I’m proud of is that they’ve continued to work and stay positive,” Smith said. “It’s not a situation where it’s bad attitudes, bad energy, laziness. They know they’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve been honest with them and we didn’t sell ‘em anything in recruiting. We didn’t make any promises, ‘Hey, you’re gonna come in here and play this amount of minutes and do this and do that.’ You know, ‘Hey, you’ve gotta come in here and work and earn your playing time.’”

With just five games remaining in the regular season, here’s how the freshmen have performed so far:

KENNEDY CAMBRIDGE

Height, position: 5-8 guard.

Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.

High school: Ensworth (Tenn.). Finalist for 2022 Tennessee Miss Basketball.

This season: Has played in 17 games, averaging 13.1 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.1 blocks, 1.0 turnovers and 50% on field goals.

No freshman has made as much noise on the court as Kennedy Cambridge. One of the program’s elite defenders, Cambridge has proven she’s willing to do whatever it takes to give UK an edge.

“I love Ken,” Elzy said following a Jan. 12 loss to South Carolina. “You know, what she brings is that dog mentality, she brings us emotional energy and defensive intensity. And the thing about Ken, she simply wants to win. She knows her role and she stars in it. She doesn’t come in to score 20. She knows she’s going to give us hustle plays and rebounds. Hitting a shot is a bonus. But we need what she brings — the energy.”

Cambridge isn’t too concerned with comparing herself to others and doesn’t allow her inexperience at this level to get in the way of making an impact.

“I think it’s just basketball,” Cambridge said after the home loss to South Carolina. “We’re all here to play basketball. I don’t care what grade you’re in, I don’t care what grade I’m in. We’re all here to win, and it’s gonna come. We finna win.”

TIONNA HERRON

Height, position: 6-4 center.

Hometown: DeSoto, Texas.

High school: DeSoto (Texas).

This season: Following open-heart surgery in the preseason, Herron was cleared to begin workouts in late December, according to UK Athletics.

She attends every practice and meets regularly with team nutritionist Taylor Tuszynski. Since early January, Herron has been working with strength and conditioning coach Lee Taylor.

“Tionna has been through a lot over the past year-and-a-half,” Taylor said. “I have been impressed with her resiliency, fight, drive and determination through the many obstacles she has faced through this journey. Through the acclimation process, she has continued to impress me with her fight to get back on the court. … She continues to answer every challenge I have put before her. I am excited and honored to be on this journey with her.”

There is no timetable for Herron’s return.

AMIYA JENKINS

Height, position: 5-10 guard.

Hometown: Lexington, Ky. 2022 Miss Kentucky Basketball winner.

High school: Anderson County (Ky.).

This season: Has played in 18 games, averaging 7.9 minutes, 3.2 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.1 blocks, 0.8 turnovers and 36.8% on field goals.

Jenkins, who has played in more games than any other member of the freshman class, is a standout in terms of how high her ceiling could be.

“I think Amiya Jenkins has tons of potential,” Smith said. “The plays that we see her make in practice and in games, you know she made some explosive plays versus Louisville. And so you see glimpses of it. She’s still putting the pieces of the puzzle together because for these freshmen, it’s so many things you have to adjust to. Time management, the pace of the game … . Her potential is out the roof with the plays we see her making, the glimpses we get of her.”

CASSIDY ROWE

Height, position: 5-6 guard.

Hometown: Virgie, Ky.

High school: Shelby Valley (Ky.).

This season: Has played in eight games, averaging 4.3 minutes, 0.5 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.1 steals, 0.0 blocks, 0.4 turnovers and has yet to make a field goal.

Rowe initially committed to the Wildcats as a freshman when Matthew Mitchell was still leading the charge. Since that commitment in 2018, Rowe dealt with substantial injuries, tearing both of her ACLs.

She’s an active participant in the team and, according to Smith, is noticed for how hard she works: “Cassidy Rowe brings it every single day in practice.”

ZENNIA THOMAS

Height, position: 6-2 forward.

Hometown: Lyndhurst, Ohio.

High school: Warrensville Heights (Ohio).

This season: Has played in six games, averaging 3.3 minutes, 0.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 0.0 blocks, 0.2 turnovers and 33.3% on field goals.

The last of the Wildcats’ freshmen to commit has impressed the coaching staff with her energy, both in games and in practice.

“Super, super proud of Zennia Thomas,” Smith said. “Z, I don’t know how many games she’s gotten in, but you cannot tell that this kid has not played much by the energy that she brings consistently. She rubs off on a lot of people. She brings the energy.”

SANIAH TYLER

Height, position: 5-6 guard.

Hometown: Florissant, Mo.

High school: Incarnate Word (Mo.).

This season: Has played in six games, averaging 3.5 minutes, 1.0 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.0 blocks, 0.2 turnovers and 20.0% on field goals.

Tyler, an explosive guard for Incarnate Word during her high school career, hasn’t seen the floor much so far this season. Tyler and her fellow freshmen guards do, however, benefit from the ability to learn from experienced leaders Benton, Scherr and Walker.

“It’s hard,” Elzy said on the Feb. 1 episode of her radio show. “Especially for the guards, when you’re sitting behind talented veteran guards. And it’s not that you are not talented, you’re just not more ready than they are right now. And that’s a hard process to be there, but, you know, they bought in. They continue to practice hard, work hard and we’re going to need them down the stretch, so I’m going to keep sprinkling them in.”

‘Teach every nuance’

This is the youngest team Elzy has coached at UK. While she has enjoyed how fun of a group it is, she also acknowledges that the inexperience has pushed her and her coaching staff to grow.

“This team has forced me to be patient,” Elzy said with a laugh on the Feb. 1 episode of her radio show. “My first two years at the helm … I was spoiled because I had all vets. This year has made me a better coach because now I have to teach every nuance. Whether it’s running out of the tunnel, whether it’s tucking your shirt in, whether it’s how we sit on the bench, how we stand at a timeout. It’s forced me to teach every nuance that the veterans knew. I think we all have become better coaches, and we’ve had to think outside the box.”

Next game

Kentucky at Ole Miss

When: 7 p.m. EST Monday

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Records: Kentucky 10-13 (2-9 SEC), Ole Miss 19-5 (8-3)

Series: Ole Miss leads 26-19

Last meeting: Ole Miss won 63-54 on Jan. 23, 2022, in Lexington

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