FILM ROOM: Saniah Tyler is a confident and versatile offensive weapon

Welcome to the sixth edition of KSR’s Film Room series, a weekly series where we’ll be taking a look at each player on Kentucky’s 2024-25 roster and breaking down their film. For the first time in this series, we’ll talk about a ‘Cat that was on the roster last season in Saniah Tyler.

You can also view our other Film Room breakdowns by clicking below.

• Georgia Amoore FILM ROOM
• Dazia Lawrence FILM ROOM
• Clara Strack FILM ROOM
• Jordan Obi FILM ROOM
• Amelia Hassett FILM ROOM

Last season, it quickly became clear that Kentucky wasn’t going to be very competitive in the SEC, so about midway through the year, a lot of the focus (from an outside perspective, at least) went toward forecasting what the next season, this season now, could be. Maddie Scherr and Ajae Petty were expected to be two of the big-time contributors on last year’s team, and they were.

However, Saniah Tyler was another player who proved that she belonged on an SEC court after making a huge jump in her sophomore season. Now, Tyler could be the difference in a “good” or “great” Kentucky team this season.

Let’s explore why that’s the case.

A quick trigger from the three-point line

First and foremost, what makes Tyler such a threat on the court is her ability to knock it down from the three-point line. Last season, she shot 34.5% from deep, which is more than acceptable, especially considering a lot of the offensive load was put on her shoulders in the latter half of the season.

One of the biggest things that contributed to Tyler’s breakout season was her increase in self-confidence. As a freshman, she struggled to get going, but after putting in the work in the offseason, Tyler re-instilled the “Go get ’em” mentality she had in high school.

And for opposing defenses, that meant she was going to wreak havoc from three-point range, and there’s not a whole lot they could do to stop it.

Getting off to red-hot starts

Multiple times last season, Tyler would check in the game and immediately start putting the ball in the hoop, which was huge for a team that really struggled to find rhythm on offense for much of the year.

It didn’t matter how things were going for the team either. Whether Kentucky was up by 10 or down by 10, Tyler would make an impact almost right away. Going back to her self-confidence, that allowed her to flourish when Kyra Elzy needed someone to go to, especially if Scherr and Petty were off that day.

Those little scoring bursts were often the start of big runs, and in close games, that’s huge. This season, if Tyler can heat up and get going offensively like she is capable of, then opposing scouting reports will suddenly have a lot more to cover.

Can put the ball on the floor and create a shot

It almost feels wrong to say Tyler is a shooter because that doesn’t fully sum up her game. Yes, that is certainly her biggest strength, but she’s not just a 3-and-D type of player. Maybe it just comes with playing in the backcourt, but she can put the ball on the floor and create her own shot.

Her go-to for that is a 12-15 foot floater when the opponent closes in on her a little too hard while trying to prevent the three-point shot. It’s like in football whenever a team is torching their opponent through the air and then decides to go under the coverage as soon as they drop back.

She’s really just a big headache on the court (for the other team, that is). Just when you think you’ve stopped her from scoring the three, she blows right by your guard, driving in for a bucket. Considering the defensive focus is primarily going to be on Georgia Amoore and the frontcourt this season, Tyler can fly under the radar and quickly make her presence known if teams don’t look out for her.