Amelia Hassett could be X-factor in senior season for Kentucky WBB

Kentucky took a tremendous leap under Kenny Brooks last season, and obviously, that’s because of the talent he brought in. Georgia Amoore and Dazia Lawrence headlined the backcourt, while Teonni Key and Clara Strack emerged as stars in the post. However, bringing in Amelia Hassett from the JUCO level was a big addition as well.

The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 19.0 points on 54.5% shooting from the field, including 40.4% from three-point range in her final season at Eastern Florida State College. Along with that, she grabbed 12.7 rebounds per game, finishing with 20 double-doubles.

She had a remarkable run against JUCO competition, but there was always the looming question of just how well she’d translate to the SEC — the size, speed, physicality, all of it. It’s safe to say that Hassett proved that she can hang with the best of the best this past season.

As a junior, Hassett recorded 8.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game, starting in all of Kentucky’s 31 contests. She often kept Kentucky in games with her defensive versatility and ability to attack the glass.

Offensively, she struggled down the stretch, only getting into double figures in the scoring column once in the final 11 games of the year. Hassett is certainly a “streaky” shooter. When she’s hot, she’s red-hot. However, she got ice-cold at times too.

If Kentucky wants to build on what it accomplished last year, Hassett will need to be more like her red-hot self rather than the ice-cold version of her that we saw to end the year. She’s undoubtably a very, very good player. We just need to see her show that on more consistent basis in her senior season.

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