3 ways Blair Green’s injury affects Kentucky WBB’s upcoming season

Kentucky Women’s Basketball lost a good one on Saturday. After suffering a “significant lower-leg injury” during Kentucky’s closed-scrimmage against EKU, senior Blair Green is expected to miss the 2021-2022 season. The veteran Wildcat was not only expected to be a team leader in points this upcoming season, but a leader in morale too.

Though Green only averaged six points per game last season, the Harlan County native made serious progress in the offseason. Many fans predicted an enormous step forward from Green for her senior year. While it’s easy to wallow in the pain of Green’s injury, the season isn’t over. Here are a few ways Green’s injury may affect the Wildcats’ upcoming season.

Wildcats are running on nine lives

With Green out for the season, the ‘Cats only have nine scholarship players on the current roster. If there was one thing Kentucky wanted to avoid this year, it was injuries. Unfortunately, disaster struck before the ‘Cats even played their first game.

On the bright side of things, Green’s natural gifts aren’t impossible to replace. As a 6-foot shooting guard/small forward, Green played a relatively middle-of-the-road position for the ‘Cats. With one of the most versatile teams in recent Kentucky history, Elzy has no shortage of ‘Cats who can plug this hole. Players such as Treasure Hunt, Robyn Benton and Emma King are all viable options.

Conditioning has been a key this offseason for the ‘Cats and they’re going to need it. From Fort Campbell training to shorter water breaks, Kentucky was seemingly preparing themselves for an untimely injury. While Green’s loss is disastrous for the squad, the ‘Cats are well-prepared to work under exhausting conditions.

New starting lineup

As the season is still young, few things have been cemented for the Wildcats. Nevertheless, one thing that did seem concrete was the starting lineup: Jazmine Massengill, Robyn Benton, Blair Green, Rhyne Howard and Dre’Una Edwards. Obviously, changes are incoming.

Elzy has repeatedly stated she wants to play an up-tempo style of basketball this season. With the original starting lineup of four guards and a stretch center, it looked like the ‘Cats would achieve just that. However, with such a significant change to the roster, there will likely be an equally large change to the starting lineup.

In the second half of the Blue-White Scrimmage, BBN did see a slight variation of the starting lineup mentioned previously. Instead of Benton starting, she was replaced by Olivia Owens. The addition of a 6-foot-4 center wouldn’t be the worst thing for the offense.

Edwards seemingly made enormous strides this offseason to her shooting and playmaking abilities. Edwards may have been a paint presence last season, but nothing is stopping her from stretching out her game this year; the Wildcats’ success may be dependent on it.

Green’s scoring needs a replacement

Green was shaping up to be a prolific scorer for the ‘Cats this season. Much of BBN was expecting the senior guard to be the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer. With Green’s buckets out of the picture, new ‘Cats will have to paint their own offensive masterpieces.

At media day, Elzy stated the team needed “to have multiple people score in double figures to really keep the defense honest.” This fact is truer now than ever.

To achieve this lofty goal, the ‘Cats will need players like Benton, Edwards and Massengill to increase their averages from last season. Edwards averaged 9.7 points per game, Benton followed behind with an average of 6.6 points per contest and Massengill rounded out the group with 5.5 points per game.

If each of these ‘Cats can increase their averages along with their efficiency, this team can still make a far-reaching run.

Final thoughts on Green’s absence

The loss of Green hurts this team; it doesn’t kill them, though. As easy as it would be to lie down and just give up on this season, that’s the last thing Green would want her team to do. As a Kentucky girl herself, Green knows the passion it takes to be a Wildcat.

Though Green won’t be on the court to hand out buckets, she’ll still be on the sideline to provide her most vital asset: leadership. Kyra Elzy said of her senior guard, “Blair Green exemplifies what being a Kentucky women’s basketball player is all about.”

For BBN’s sake, let’s hope Green’s teammates can follow in her footsteps and represent the blue and white well this upcoming season.