Kentucky WBB's depth is a game-changer this season

Having too many talented players to put on the court is an excellent problem to have. Kentucky women’s basketball will have this problem in 2022-23.

This season, the ‘Cats have 15 players on scholarship — there’s little distinction in talent after the top five players. Head coach Kyra Elzy, now entering year three in charge, hasn’t dealt with this issue during her tenure and certainly didn’t last year. Despite winning an SEC Championship last season, Kentucky had anything but depth.

Kyra Elzy gets used to her team’s depth

Elzy believes the team’s depth will play a significant role this season.

“In order to play the style that we want to play — up-tempo offensively, pressing — you have to have a bench to go to,” Elzy said during Kentucky WBB Media Day on Oct. 5. “Being able to have options is helpful.”

At specific points last season, Elzy essentially had no options. Over a two-week span, the ‘Cats played six games never having more than eight players healthy. Things were at their worst when the team took on Vanderbilt with only six players. The memory still haunts Elzy.

“I’m trying not to remember that we only had six,” Elzy said with a smile.

Blair Green is ready to run

Graduate student Blair Green sees Elzy’s vision for Kentucky’s system, and she’s excited.

“We’re going to be getting up and down. We have a lot of fast guards and some posts that can really move,” Green said during Media Day. “We’ll definitely have that Kentucky defense where we’re up just full court. Forty minutes of just dread from us.”

Changing Kentucky WBB practice culture

A deep bench isn’t only helpful during games, but in practice, too. A major insight from Media Day was Kentucky practices are ridiculously competitive. Last season, Elzy couldn’t risk losing another player to implement these intense practices.

Thankfully, Elzy doesn’t have to worry about that this year. The third-year head coach described her team diving for loose balls, crashing into walls, and regularly colliding with one another in the Joe Craft Center. Graduate student Robyn Benton backed up Elzy’s claims.

“Me and MiMi — her name’s Amiya Jenkins, she’s a freshman from Kentucky — we’re neck-and-neck, and I’m like, ‘I’m not allowed to let this freshman beat me,'” Benton recalled. “Of course, I cut her off, and we almost went into that treadmill over there, but I won the sprint.”

As for freshman Kennedy Cambridge, Elzy is ready to lace her up in bubble wrap.

“I was told I couldn’t come back to practice without my kneepads on because I was messing up my knees,” Cambridge said. “[Elzy] don’t stop the game. We’ll be scrimmaging. I’ll dive on the ground, and she’s like, ‘keep moving.'”

Let’s hope the ‘Cats save some of that competitive spirit for the season. Catch Kentucky WBB at Big Blue Madness this Friday, Oct. 14.