Janae Walker Could be the Missing Piece to the Puzzle for Kentucky WBB

On May 7th, freshman forward Janae Walker announced her commitment to the University of Kentucky. She picked the ‘Cats over the USC Trojans, Wisconsin Badgers, and Syracuse Orange. Walker didn’t start playing the game of basketball until she was 13 years old, but that didn’t limit her from seeing success in high school. She averaged 20.3 points, 14.8 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game for Sandy Creek High School in Georgia.

Walker would go on to lead her team to a Georgia High School Association (GHSA) 5th Region Championship, as well as winning several personal awards. She was a 1,000-point scorer in high school, and she was actually committed to Gardner-Webb before she ultimately came to Lexington. So, just how good can Walker be for UK?

Bringing Tenacious Rebounding to the Table

Averaging 14.8 rebounds per game in high school is certainly impressive, and the BBN should be excited to see similar production in college. Standing at 6’4, Walker is the tallest player on the 2023-2024 roster. Her size and ability to rack up rebounds will be imperative for this team.

Last season, Kentucky ranked 279th in the nation in total rebounds per game, grabbing just 33.9 per contest. By the way, that ranked 3rd worst in the SEC. Only Vanderbilt and Missouri averaged fewer rebounds per game than UK.

Obviously, that statistic does not favor Kentucky, and that’s a major part of why the Wildcats went 12-19 (2-14 in the SEC) last season. Adding Walker not only adds some size and strength that UK lacked last season, but she also possesses an innate ability to snag rebounds. That will be pivotal if Kentucky wants to improve on last year’s underwhelming season.

Scoring a lot of Points Efficiently

If the rebounds per game stat weren’t bewildering enough for you, then consider that Kentucky ranked 187th in the NCAA in field goal percentage last season. The Lady ‘Cats shot a poor 40.4% from the field. That simply won’t get you anywhere except for finishing 13th in the SEC, like Kentucky did a year ago.

During her senior season of high school, Walker shot 53.5% from the field while managing 20.3 points per game. While she spends most of her time dominating her opponent with her back to the basket in the post, her shooting range extends to the mid-range area and even the 3-point line.

With senior Maddie Scherr being expected to carry a decent amount of the load on offense, having a legitimate threat down low like Walker will only add to the weapons at Kyra Elzy’s disposal. After all, if Kentucky is just a one-woman show again, it’ll be hard to see where they could improve. Hopefully, Walker can take some of that load off of Scherr and provide some quality shot-making.

A lot went wrong with Kentucky last year, and they are in need of a major reset. The addition of Janae Walker could be a great way to get the Lady ‘Cats back on track.