By LARRY VAUGHT
First-year Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy started her head coaching career by having to suspend All-American Rhyne Howard, a potential national player of the year, for two games for a violation of team rules. However, that did not taint the relationship between the two.
Elzy said coaching Howard is “pretty special” because of her rare talent.
“What I love about Rhyne is she wants to be coached, she wants to be pushed, she wants to learn, and the staff does an amazing job with helping her improve,” Elzy said. “She has goals, obviously beyond Kentucky, that we have to help her get ready for. We can’t just let her rest on her talent and she knows that we are not.
“But also, just having great relationships, and really just trying to enjoy her and this team, even though it’s March Madness for a reason.”
Kentucky lost in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals last week just a few days after Howard was again named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year by league coaches and is only the third player to be SEC Player of the Year twice prior to her senior season. She’s also a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy Women’s National Player of the Year and one of five finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award and Dawn Staley Award given to the nation’s best player along with one of the final 15 on the Wooden Award ballot.
Howard is the only Power-5 conference player averaging over 19 points and 7.5 rebounds per game with at least 40 steals and 70 assists. She’s the only player in the SEC leading her team in scoring, rebounding and assists.
“I think where she has grown up from a year ago is she really trusts her teammates to step up and make the play,” Howard said. “The biggest thing for Rhyne is the pace at which she plays. She knows how to come off the screens and change the pace at which she can get open.
“A year ago, they trapped her and she panicked and didn’t handle that well. Now when they trap her, she knows how to get out of the trap. The biggest leap she has taken is defensively, she is not resting on the defensive end.”