Finley’s Vision Starting to Take Shape in Wake of WNIT Run

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — They come and go this time of year in college basketball faster than Charles Barkley can deliver a fresh quip. The transfer portal era has created a modern epicenter immediately after the Final Four – in the men’s and women’s games – that looms over everything else at the start of the offseason.

Imagine rush hour at Grand Central Station: coaches and players race in every direction to make connections that lead to their final destination. That’s sort of what it seems like for those watching from courtside.

Some might look at the Florida women’s basketball program that way, but not so fast, said head coach Kelly Rae Finley. The Gators concluded Finley’s first full year on the job by making a run in the WNIT, winning on the road at Wofford, Wake Forest, and Clemson before losing in the quarterfinals at Bowling Green on March 27.

“I like the trajectory of our program,” she said. “We want to build on where we finished.”

While five players have announced they have entered the transfer portal since the loss, including the team’s two leading scorers, guards KK Deans (14.1 points per game) and Nina Rickards (12.1), Finley stands firm to the foundation she has built. Forwards Jordyn Merritt, Tatyana Wyche and Taliyah Wyche are the others to depart.

Other than Dean, a transfer from West Virginia who only spent one season at Florida, those players helped the Gators to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years in 2022 after Finley replaced Cam Newbauer near the start of the season.

“It’s interesting the narrative that is being tied to men’s basketball because it’s not even close to the same,” said the 37-year-old Finley, who is 40-26 since taking over the program. “More so for me, it’s like, ‘Geez, that WNIT run was a great experience for us.’ If our goal is to be playing late into March, that’s important for us to know what it feels like in a win-or-go-home situation.

“I was pleased with our push at the end of the season.”

Finley inherited a stressed program in 2021, and immediately injected enthusiasm and retooled the team’s culture, leading to a 21-win season and midseason stretch in the Southeastern Conference in which Florida won nine of 10, including statement victories over SEC rivals LSU and Tennessee at the O’Dome.

A program stuck in the mud pulled its way out and…