Kentucky Wildcats
Overall Rank: #5
Conference Rank: #1 SEC
Kentucky Team Page
A junior laden squad returns in 2012-13 for the Lady Wildcats under the guidance of Head Coach Matthew Mitchell. The 2011-12 campaign was a very special one for Kentucky. They had a dominant home court run, going 18-0 in Lexington en-route to winning the regular season championship of the Southeastern Conference. After falling to UConn in the Elite Eight, this team is hungry for more. The goal is to get to the Final Four and beyond to make Lexington the capital of college basketball.
2011-12 Record: 28-7, 13-3
2011-12 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Matthew Mitchell
Coach Record: 114-56 at Kentucky, 144-85 overall
Strengths:
The backcourt is a huge strength for this Kentucky squad. Junior A’dia Mathies is the leader of the team. She had a 15.0 point per game scoring average and was adept at distributing the basketball and getting steals on the defensive end of the floor. The defense as a whole does an excellent job creating turnovers as opponents turned the ball over nearly 27 times a contest last year. Bria Goss and Kastine Evans also provide a solid presence on the perimeter and both have the ability to hit from three point range causing havoc for opposing defenses.
Weaknesses:
This team is going to need a full season out of Samarie Walker up front to be able to deal with teams that are bigger than Kentucky in the front court. Walker started just nine games last season but was a huge contributor for the Wildcats. She will be counted on heavily this season and will be pushed to average a double-double. Walker’s ability to accomplish this will go a long way in elevating the Kentucky offense to an even more difficult offense to deal with. Because the team has a target on their back, the other question that needs to be answered is how this veteran team deals with getting everyone’s best shot throughout the SEC schedule.
Final Projection:
This Wildcat program, under the guidance of Coach Mitchell, has created a championship culture. The Kentucky players expect to win when they take the court and compete for championships within the conference and nationally. In the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Wildcats will have two tremendous opportunities to make a national statement with trips to Baylor on November 13 and an in-state battle against Louisville on December 2nd. Mathies and Goss provide the necessary stability in the backcourt to allow this Kentucky team to push the tempo at a very high level. The team will also be tested by the rest of the SEC who will be gunning for the projected top team in the conference. If this team can stay healthy all season and continue its home court dominance, then another conference championship should be in the cards. Also, as far as the post season goes, this team has all the ingredients to make that run to the Final Four and be in play for a national championship come April.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
A’dia Mathies, Junior, Guard, 15.7 points per game
Bria Goss, Sophomore, Guard, 11.0 points per game
Kastine Evans, Junior, Guard 10.2 points per game
Samarie Walker, Junior, Forward, 14.2 points per game
Samantha Drake, Junior, Center, 4.7 points per game
Madness 2013 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#11 A'dia Mathies
Madness 2012 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#30 Janee Thompson
