Kentucky Wildcats Women's Basketball 2022-23: A Fan's Preview

One of my weaknesses is being a big University of Kentucky basketball fan of both the men’s and women’s teams.

A Rebuilding Year

The upcoming 2022-23 season may be a rebuilding year for the women. The star of last year’s team, senior Rhyne Howard, was picked #1 in the WNBA draft, then went on to win Rookie of the Year in the league. She left some big shoes to fill at Kentucky.

Furthermore, the 2022-23 team’s only center, and arguably the best incoming player, 6’ 4” freshman center Tionna Herron from Texas, underwent open-heart surgery in August, as reported by numerous news sources.

The surgery was successful. She still plans to play for UK. Personally, I hope she makes a full recovery and plays before the end of this season, if not at the beginning. But it’s important for her not to rush.

Even without Howard and Herron, my guess (and hope) is that this year’s UK team will finish with a winning record. I think the Cats will do better than the early forecasts I’ve seen.

An early preseason ESPN forecast[1] did not put Kentucky in the top 25. That’s not a big surprise. But, worse, ESPN’s Charlie Crème’s April 21 Women’s Bracketology[2] did not list Kentucky among the teams expected to make the NCAA tournament. He didn’t even put Kentucky “on the bubble.”

Furthermore, both those ESPN forecasts came out before Herron’s surgery. Before the surgery, I expected Kentucky to be in the NCAA tournament, and maybe even make the top 25 at the end of the season.

When the Associated Press and Coaches’ polls come out later, expect Kentucky’s name to be absent from the top 25. But it will be interesting to see if (and how many) votes the Wildcats get. One (or a few) voters may put UK somewhere on their ballots.

The Roster

The UK team’s 2022-23 roster is listed on UKAthletics.com[3] and several other websites.

The roster includes: Tionna Herron, Robyn Benton, Saniah Tyler, Kennedy Cambridge, Eniya Russell, Blair Green, Jada Walker, Ajae Petty, Amiya Jenkins, Nyah Leveretter, Maddie Scherr, Cassidy Rowe, Zennia Thomas, Adebola Adeyee, and Emma King.

As usual, Kentucky is blessed with an abundance of guards.

Guard Blair Green returns from an injury that kept her out last season. If she is fully recovered, she can offer experienced leadership and potentially be the best overall player on the court.

Sophomore guard Jada Walker had an impressive freshman year, including making the All-SEC Freshman team. She will hopefully be even better this season.

Robyn Benton returns and may be improved enough to start regularly.

Transfer guard Maddie Scherr from Oregon will hopefully live up to her outstanding high school career after what were probably two disappointing seasons at Oregon. She may earn a starting spot along with Green, Walker, and Benton in a four-guard starting lineup.

Transfer guard Eniya Russell from South Carolina is probably good enough to earn significant playing time at Kentucky after mainly being on the bench at talent-loaded South Carolina.

Freshmen guards Saniah Tyler, Kennedy Cambridge, Amiya Jenkins, and Cassidy Rowe add depth, as does senior guard Emma King.

The Wildcats’ only true center is 6’4” freshman Tionna Herron. Unfortunately, she may miss the season due to her open-heart surgery. If so, forward Adebola Adeyee coming to UK after four years at Buffalo may be the Cats best inside player and earn a starting position.

Returning forward Nyah Leveretter and transfer forward Ajae Petty from LSU will add depth to the Cats’ inside game. Freshman forward Zennia Thomas may earn significant playing time too.

My Expectations

How many games the team wins may depend on how well they work together as a team and how much effort they put forth individually. Expectations are not high. This may give them incentive to work hard to prove forecasters wrong.

The team playing well together (with Kentucky’s well-known tough defense) can make this a successful season.

The nonconference schedule only includes a few quality teams (as I see it, though I could be wrong), so I hope the Cats get some early wins to build a nice record early in the season. The UK Athletics website[4] (and other sources) list the team’s complete regular season schedule.

The season begins with one exhibition game, a November 2nd game against Pikeville. The highlights of the nonconference season will likely be two games in the Bahamas (against Dayton and Virginia Tech) and the Louisville game. If UK loses those three games and wins the others, it can enter conference play with a 9-3 regular-season record. Some of the other opponents are not weak teams. I think UK will enter conference play with an 8-4 record.

The brutal Southeastern Conference schedule includes two games against an outstanding South Carolina team that will probably repeat as national champions. Several other SEC opponents may make the national top 25 rankings.

Many persons will probably forecast UK to experience a losing overall conference record. I optimistically predict an 8-8 conference record to finish the regular season 16-12.

Closing Thoughts

I’m only a fan. I’m not an expert prognosticator of a team’s success. But I’ve been a UK men's and women's basketball (and UK football) fan for decades. Over the years I’ve even accumulated an assortment of fan-related items, such as those pictured below.

My forecast is based on freshman Tionna Herron not being able to play this season and on the team experiencing some growing pains as it blends newcomers and returnees.

If one or two or three of the newcomers plays better than expected, Kentucky can do well, maybe very well.

If Herron is able to return from her injury at some point (say middle of the season) and plays in top form, I think the Cats will win more games, finish strong, and make the NCAA tournament. But her making a full recovery is more important than rushing to make her available this year, and I’m confident the UK staff agrees.

We fans need to be patient with this year’s team. It may not meet our usual Kentucky expectations. But I’m confident it will be a fun year. Let’s enjoy it and look forward to a significantly better season in 2023-24.

ENDNOTES:

[1] Philippou, Alex and Voepel, Mechelle; “Women’s college basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2022-23”; ESPN; June 14, 2022; webpage accessed September 26, 2022; web https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/34086750/women-college-basketball-way-too-early-top-25-2022-23

[2] Crème, Charlie; “Women’s Bracketology 2023 NCAA Tournament”; ESPN; April 21, 2022, 9 a.m. ET; webpage accessed September 26, 2022; https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/30423107/ncaa-women-bracketology-2023-women-college-basketball-projections

[3] “2022 Women’s Basketball Roster”; UKAthletics.com; webpage accessed September 26, 2022; https://ukathletics.com/sports/wbball/roster/

[4] “UK 2022-23 Women’s Basketball Schedule”; UKAthletics.com; webpage accessed September 26, 2022; https://ukathletics.com/sports/wbball/schedule/

Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball 2022-23: A Fan's Preview

Being a University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball fanatic (men’s and women’s teams) is one of my weaknesses. I devote too much time to watching, listening to, and reading about UK basketball. Thankfully, I’m not as zealous as in the past. But I do look forward to the upcoming 2022-23 season.

My History as a Fan

I’ve been a University of Kentucky basketball fan since age 12, and maybe became a fan even younger. When the #1 ranked 1969-70 UK team led by All-American Dan Issel lost in the NCAA tournament to a Jacksonville team led by center Artis Gilmore, 12-year-old me cried.

It’s wrong for a person, even a child, to take a basketball loss so seriously. After all, it’s only a game. But some of us take sports seriously. Furthermore, it's been stated that UK basketball is almost a religion in Kentucky. And there’s at least a bit of truth to that. Many in this state are fanatical about UK basketball.

As a college student decades ago, I sometimes camped out on Saturday nights in order to be in line early to get tickets for quality seats to UK home games that were distributed Sunday afternoons. Once I even camped out Friday night and Saturday night. And I wasn’t the only one. Typically a crowd of students camped outside seeking to get nice lower arena tickets.

Over the years, I also accumulated things to show my fan support for UK men's basketball, UK women's basketball, and UK football, including those pictured below.

Last Season

A complete list of last season’s games and scores is on the UK Athletics website.[1]

The season ended with disappointment, two consecutive losses. After falling to Tennessee in the SEC tournament semifinals, the Wildcats suffered a loss to St. Peters in Kentucky’s one NCAA tournament game.

UK ended the season with a 26-8 record, excluding the two wins in exhibition games against Kentucky Wesleyan College and Miles College.

Some 2022-23 Kentucky Preseason Forecasts by Others

Forecasters anticipate a better season for UK in 2022-23 than last year.

ESPN[2] has Kentucky #4 in August 23, 2022 preseason rankings. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook[3] ranks Kentucky #3. Sports Illustrated[4] ranked Kentucky #4 in a June 18, 2022 preseason ranking.

Yes, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook all pick Kentucky to make the Final Four.

My Forecast and UK’s Schedule

Being a UK fan, I am likely biased. But I’m picking Kentucky to win the national championship. Believe it or not, there is some logic to my pick.

* For one thing, Kentucky played some summer exhibition games in the Bahamas (as noted on the 2022-23 season schedule which is posted on the UKAthletics.com website[5] and many other places).

These summer games in the Bahamas gave Kentucky some early practice time, experience playing against outside competition, and provided Kentucky Coach John Calipari a chance to learn how his team members play individually and as a team.

* Second the team features the return of consensus national player of the year Oscar Tschiebwe,. He led the nation in rebounds per game last season, as recorded on NCAA.com[6] and other sources. This is great news. But the fact that the Cats lost in their opening NCAA tournament game indicates he alone isn’t enough.

* Returnees also include Sahvir Wheeler, who led Kentucky and the SEC in assists per game last season according to records on SECSports.com[7] and other sources. The return of CJ Fredrick who missed last season due to a hamstring injury helps too.

* In the August Bahamas games, the transfer from Illinois State (Antonio Reeves) was the tournament MVP. He's a nice addition to the team. Among many sources offering details on the summer Bahamas games is ASeaofBlue.com.[8]

* Calipari often does well blending experienced players with transfers and incoming freshmen. This team includes enough experience to allow more of that blending to occur than with a typical Calipari team. Calipari’s Kentucky teams seem, as I see it, to function better when a few quality experienced players can mesh with the incoming players.

The Roster

The 2022-23 team roster is listed on the UK Athletics website,[9] as well as numerous other media websites. The team members are: Jacob Toppin, CJ Fredrick, Sahvir Wheeler, AdouThiero, Daimion Collins, Antonio Reeves, Grant Darbyshire, Brennan Canada, Walker Horn, Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston, Kareem Watkins, Ugonna Onyenso, Oscar Tshiebwe, and Lance Ware.

The Bahamas games may offer insights into which players will start, which will come off the bench first, etc. But it’s still a while before the start of the season. Things can change.

The Future and Closing Thoughts

Kentucky basketball’s future looks bright. Calipari continues recruiting well, in addition to securing quality transfers. The fan base remains strong too.

I expect an exciting, successful season this year and next year, as well as in the foreseeable future.

However, partially due to so many one-and-done freshmen players, as well as transfers, I don’t keep up well with who all the players are for Kentucky anymore. My other activities are probably a factor too.

Furthermore, while it seems fair that players can earn more for their efforts, the new NCAA regulations allowing certain types of sports-related earnings for college athletes may negatively impact some student athletes, programs, and the sport. Time will tell how the changes affect things.

My not being as avid a fan as I used to be may be a good thing. After all, basketball is only a game. It’s not important in the grand scheme of things.

But I’ll still be hoping for another national championship for the University of Kentucky Wildcats this year. Go Big Blue!

ENDNOTES:

[1] “UK 2021-22 Men’s Basketball Schedule”; UKAthletics.com; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://ukathletics.com/sports/mbball/schedule/season/2021-22/

[2] Borzello, Jeff; “Way-Too-Early Top 25 men's college basketball rankings 2022-23: Standouts from a summer of international tours”; ESPN; August 23, 2022; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/page/earlytop25082222/way-too-early-top-25-men-college-basketball-rankings-2022-23-standouts-summer-international-tours

[3] Dortch, Chris; “Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason Top 25”; Chris Dortch’s Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook; September 1, 2022; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://blueribbon.substack.com/p/blue-ribbon-college-basketball-yearbook-e14?utm_source=twitter&sd=pf

[4] Sweeney, Kevin; “Top 25 Reset: How Transfers, Draft Decisions Changed Our Men’s 2022–23 Rankings”; Sports Illustrated website; June 18, 2022; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://www.si.com/college/2022/06/18/ncaa-basketball-rankings-top-25-reset

[5] “2022-23 Men’s Basketball Schedule”; UKAthletics.com; webpage accessed September 25, 2022 https://ukathletics.com/sports/mbball/schedule/

[6] “NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Individual Statistics: Rebounds Per Game”; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/137

[7] “SEC Basketball: 2022 Statistics’; SECSports.com; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://www.secsports.com/statistics/mens-basketball

[8] Marcum, Jason; “Cumulative stats and postgame notes from Kentucky’s Bahamas Tour”; ASeaofBlue.com; August 15, 2022; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://www.aseaofblue.com/2022/8/15/23304724/uk-basketball-cumulative-stats-postgame-notes-bahamas-tour-2022

[9] “2022-23 Men’s Basketball Roster”; UKAthletics.com; webpage accessed September 25, 2022; https://ukathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster/