CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content
We continue our season preview coverage with Kentucky SO SG Rhyne Howard. You may have thought that the best freshman in Lexington last season was Tyler Herro or Keldon Johnson…but Howard was the 1 who was named unanimous national Freshman of the Year. After winning a gold medal with team USA in 2018, she scored more than 16 PPG and helped her team win a game in the NCAA tourney in 2019. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Rhyne about making a game-winner last February and playing in the SEC.
You grew up in Tennessee: what made you choose the Wildcats? It was close to home and felt more like a family setting.
You played in the 2018 Jordan Brand Classic: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Jazmine Massengill/NaLyssa Smith/Christyn Williams/other)? It was the 1st time that I ever saw NaLyssa play and she was really good.
In the summer of 2018 you were named tourney MVP after leading team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA U18 Americas Women’s Championship: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It meant a lot to be chosen from a select few. It was great to play with new people and develop a different bond.
Last November you scored 29 PTS and tied a school record with 7 3PM in a 50-PT win over Southern: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? I would not say that it is a secret: sometimes I just throw it up there!
Last February you had 18 PTS/14 REB and made the game-winning 15-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left before stealing an inbounds pass to clinch a 2-PT win over Arkansas: did you think the shot was going in, and what was the feeling like in the locker room afterward? I felt confident in the shot and thought that it was going in. There was a lot of great energy in the locker room: everyone was pumped up!
In the 2019 NCAA tourney you scored 15 PTS in a 5-PT win over Princeton and scored a team-high 21 PTS in a loss at NC State: what did you learn from your postseason run that will help you this season? Anything can happen in the postseason so you have to be prepared for the best/worst. It will help me be prepared this year for teams with more physicality.
You finished last season by being named unanimous national Freshman of the Year after averaging 16.4 PPG/6.6 RPG: how were you able to make such a smooth transition from high school to college? I got a lot of help from my teammates/coaches who made it easy on me. My teammates gave me advice every step of the way about what our coaches would be looking for.
What is it like to play at a school where the men’s team has so much tradition, and what is it like to play in a conference with 2017 NCAA champ South Carolina/2017 & 2018 NCAA runner-up Mississippi State? It is great because the fans here get 2-for-1 in the basketball department. The SEC is 1 of the toughest conferences so you never know what you will get when you step onto the court.
Your mother Rhvonja Avery played basketball at Florida and coached you all the way to high school: what was the best part of having your mom as your coach, and what was the not-so-best part? You always get yelled at the most…but learning from someone you have always looked up to was the best.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I would like to follow up Freshman of the Year by being Player of the Year so I will have to work twice as hard as I did last year. We expect to be a great team and win as many games as we can.