Three starters transferring off UK team that had magical run to win SEC Tournament title

Kyra Elzy faces a major rebuilding task for next season. (Vicky Graff Photo)

So much for the storybook-type run the Kentucky women’s basketball team had to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament title for the first time in almost 40 years. The Cats went from a 9-11 record in February to winning 10 straight games to reach the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed where it lost in the first round to Princeton.

Now comes the news that not only is UK losing All-American Rhyne Howard to graduation but coach Kyra Elzy also had three starters — Dre Edwards, Jazmine Massengill, and Treasure Hunt — put their name in the transfer portal Friday.

Edwards was the team’s second-leading scorer at 16.5 points per game last season and hit the game-winning shot against No. 1 South Carolina in the SEC tourney. She also averaged 8.4 rebounds per game. Edwards was suspended twice during the season by Elzy for five games, including four straight games in the middle of the season.

Massengill transferred from Tennessee to UK and was a reliable point guard the last two years. She averaged 7 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Hunt was rated higher coming out of high school than Howard. She averaged 6.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game her sophomore season but never really matched the high expectations then UK coach Matthew Mitchell had when she signed with Kentucky. She started 29 games but lacked a consistent outside shot most of the season.

So as of today, what does that leave Elzy going into her third season as UK’s head coach? She still has 10 scholarship players: Guards Robyn Benton, Blair Green, Amiya Jenkins, Emma King, Cassidy Jo Rowe, Saniah Tyler, and Jada Walker along with post players Tionna Herron, Nyah Leveretter and Olivia Owens.

Jenkins, Rowe, Tyler, and Herron are all UK signees who have yet to arrive on campus.

Jenkins was Kentucky’s Miss Basketball from Anderson County. Rowe, a Shelby Valley guard, committed to  UK in 2018. Tyler is from St. Louis and Herron, who is 6-4 and will bring needed size, is from Texas.

Walker averaged 10.4 points per game as a true freshman and had 47 steals and she could be ready to be the full-time point guard with Massengill’s departure. Leveretter started the final 10 games last season at center but is not a prolific scorer or rebounder. The 6-4 Owens, a transfer from Maryland, is UK’s other returning post player.

King played sparingly until mid-season when injuries, suspensions, and illness forced Elzy to use her more. She scored a career-high 10 points in a road win over Auburn and also led Kentucky in taking charges. However, Elzy did not use her as much in the final games. She was a potent 3-point shooter in high school and could be a needed offensive weapon for UK next season.

Green missed this season due to a preseason injury but is a former starter who has shown she can score. Benton is eligible for a COVID extra year but has yet to announce if she will be back next year.

Elzy will obviously have a chance to add to the roster through the transfer portal — or maybe even find a high school gem still looking for a college.

So who is the blame for the roster collapse? Elzy had to take over before the 2020-21 season when Matthew Mitchell unexpectedly resigned. She’s a former star player and had been Mitchell’s top assistant. She obviously expected players to follow rules — and even had to suspend Howard for a game.

Both Howard and Edwards admitted after the SEC Tournament that there had been a disconnect on the team that got solved when the team went on its winning streak. Obviously, that was a temporary fix

However, this is also the new world of college athletics with the transfer portal. Edwards had talent but she also transferred to UK from Utah after a stellar freshman season for a reason and her play on the court could be brilliant or destructive.

Mitchell had to survive mass defections early in his career when seven players left after one season. However, he changed whatever he was doing and went on to great success before his retirement (and how ironic that a report surfaced Friday from Georgia that Mitchell might be interested in the coaching vacancy there).

Now Elzy has to regroup along with her returning and new players and maybe they’ll have the same type of chip on their shoulders that Saint Peter’s had when it eliminated John Calipari’s team.

It’s easy for players to leave a program now and sometimes that’s best for them and the program and hopefully, that’s what this will be.